Bruises and Deeper Scars
by stickdonkey
Summary: What would have happened if in the final battle with Rido, Zero had been unable to kill him? What would have happened to Yuuki if Rido would not have been occupied with Zero? With no one to save her, will Yuuki finally learn to defend herself? YuMe fic!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Hello all, this is the first fan fic I have written in a long time, but this just seemed like an interesting idea that have been given no voice by the fanfiction community yet so I decided to undertake the task. I do apologize for the darkness of it, but that was how the idea came to me. Thank you for taking the time to read my note and I hope you enjoy my story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or any of the characters.**

**Warning: This fic is for mature audiences. The reasons for this rating are rape, torture, and nudity and incest**** and later consensual sex.**

As they got to the roof of the building, they finally laid eyes on the person that was attempting to destroy the place they had grown to associate with freedom and home. Rido Kuran was sitting on a pile of bodies, whether vampire or human was anyone's guess at this point with the amount of both types of blood that was saturating the air and overwhelming their senses. He turned his head languidly towards them, a bored expression on his face, then his mismatched eyes lit with life as he saw her. Yuuki Kuran, his niece and a recently re-awakened pureblood vampire. But it was not Yuuki he saw: rather it was her mother, and the woman he had loved, his sister Juuri. And it was by this name he called her as he reached for her.

The six other vampires that had come with Yuuki to help her with the fight against Rido stepped between the two purebloods at his sign of aggression towards Yuuki.

"What is this?" Rido asked with a laugh. "Are you sending in the pawns to fight your battles for you Yuuki? Even though you look and smell so much like my Juuri she would never have done that, she valued the lives of others above herself. Foolish girl," he finished thinking of Juuri.

"Yuuki did not 'send' us. Kaname-sama told us to protect her," Aidou said glaring defiantly at Rido. "And as long as we live, you will not touch her."

"And what do you lot think that you will do against me?" Rido laughed. "Your powers will be useless. I can't believe that Kaname would leave such a weak defense around his precious 'sister.' Though it doesn't surprise me that he would sacrifice your lives to protect hers. If you stand aside now, you may live."

"Never!" said Ruka, surprising everyone. They all knew that she hated Yuuki, the idea that she would be willing to sacrifice her life to protect her was absurd. "Kaname-sama trusted us to keep his sister safe, and I would rather die than disappoint him."

"Stupid girl," Rido sneered, "If you want death, I can give it to you."

Yuuki felt a pang of guilt at those words. She knew that if she didn't do something soon Rido would kill all of Kaname-sempai's loyal friends. The only alternative was for her to face Rido herself. Somehow she had known when they began this challenge that in the end it would be him against her.

"Please," she said quietly, "I would appreciate it if you will all step back, there is no need for you to die in a struggle between purebloods." The nobles all turned their heads to glance at her to see if she had lost her mind.

"I know you think that I am crazy," she continued, "but much as Ruka-senpai said before that it would hurt Kaname-sempai to lose me, as people he cares about, I believe that it would hurt him to lose any of you and I would hate to be the cause of that hurt. So please, step aside and let me deal with Rido."

Rido laughed at her words, "So childish Yuuki. The way that a pureblood tells lesser vampires to do things is not by reasoning with them and _asking _them to do what you want. You _command _them to do it. Are you sure that you don't want me to just kill them before I deal with you?"

"That is not how Kaname-sempai gets respect from them," she replied with a glare. "They respect him as a person, not just a pureblood who demands respect."

"You have much to learn Yuuki," Rido said with a sardonic grin. "Let me show you how a _true_ pureblood handles things. **Move aside and stay out of the way,**" he said in a demanding tone. Though it was apparent on their faces that the movement was not of their own volition, the other vampires moved to the edges of the roof leaving the center clear for the battle that was to take place.

"That is only a hint of the power a pureblood possesses," he said,"But you have no idea what we are capable of, do you Juuri?"

She didn't reply. She was watching closely for any sign that he was about to attack, her whole body tensed and ready to respond. She would not make the first move. Even though she hated him, she wanted the act of having to kill him to be self-defense. When he finally did move, it was blindingly fast. One second he was on the far side of the roof and then he was behind her with a strand of her hair to his nose. She didn't even have time to respond to his closeness before he had her arms behind her back and had pulled her against him.

"You look and smell so much like my Juuri, all I want is to feed from you like I did her," Rido purred in Yuuki's ear. "Is it too much to ask for an uncle to want blood from his niece after more than ten years starved of the blood of a loved one? I wonder if your blood tastes like hers."

_Ten years without blood that satisfied thirst, just like Kaname-senpai_, Yuuki thought, and then corrected herself, _no Kaname-onisama. How lonely that must have been for him, and how much pain it must have caused him to see me every day and know that he couldn't have what he craved more than anything else. But Rido is not Kaname-onisama, he is the man who destroyed my family and deserves the pain!_

He licked up the side of her neck, and she felt herself shudder in disgust at the feel of his tongue on her skin. She squirmed against him and managed to free an arm well enough to hit him in the face with an elbow. He released her and stumbled backwards, his hand over his face and blood streaming between his fingers.

"So," he said, "you have some of Haruka in you too. Or maybe that is because you have been so close to Kaname all these years. Juuri was not violent like that to me. She just cried and begged me to stop." He paused and tilted his head sideways, surveying her with his strange eyes. "Actually . . . that is what I want from you. I want you to beg me for mercy, just like your mother."

"I will never do that," Yuuki replied, reaching for Artemis hidden under her skirt. The time had come for her to kill him. He had done what she wanted and made the first sign of aggression. Now his life was going to end and no one could fault her for it.

"Never say never Yuuki," Rido said, watching her hand carefully. Just before her hand touched the metal under her skirt a stream of the blood flowing from Rido's nose shot out and struck her on the back of the hand.

She held in her cry of pain as she felt her skin split, if only to seem stronger than she was, but there was no way for her to keep her muscles from twitching in response to the pain. As the wound healed smoothly, Rido's expression revealed a hit of frustration.

"So," he taunted, "your body has remembered the full range of its vampire abilities even if your mind has not, huh? Well that can be fixed easily enough." Then he sent another stream of blood out from his blood and used it to tie her arms and legs apart away from her body. Then he disappeared behind her.

As she fought against her bonds, Yuuki fought back a sob and wondered what he meant by "fixing" her vampire abilities. She was about to ask him what he was going to do when she realized that was exactly what he wanted and swallowed her words just as she had swallowed her cry of pain earlier. There was no way that she was going to give her _uncle_ the satisfaction of getting what he wanted from her. She heard him moving something briefly behind her. She instinctively closed her eyes and tensed as Rido's fingers brushed against her shoulder. That simple touch made her feel as if something toxic was seeping into her skin and invading her very being. The layers of clothing between them was nowhere near enough distance. He ran a fingernail up the skin on her neck, then without warning grabbed her shoulder and stabbed her with a sword.

She screamed as she felt the sword pass through the bone and muscle of her shoulder. The pain of the wound was intensified by the electricity crackling from the blade of the hunter's sword. She knew that she had been intending to deny him the satisfaction of knowing that he caused her pain, since he seemed to have a sadistic streak a mile wide, but the sword in her flesh was not just pain: it was agony! She heard the others call out her name, but there was no way that they could help her, not with Rido's command to not interfere still in place. Not that she wanted them to get hurt either, but she needed help. She now knew that she had been a fool, she was no match for Rido without help. She had been sheltered too long under Kaname's wing to be able to stand on her on and she hated the feeling of helplessness.

"Why do you make me hurt you like this?" Rido asked in an almost pained voice. "Why can't you just be a good girl and submit to your elders like you're supposed to?"

"Because you don't deserve anything from me," she gasped out. "You have never caused me anything but pain, why would you do anything any different now?"

He was suddenly in front of her and grabbed her chin in his hand and forced her face up to look at his. "Now Yuuki," he asked, "do you honestly think that you can speak to me that way without getting punished?" Though she knew that he was just coming up with excuses, he wanted to hurt her. She glared at him in response knowing as she did that it was probably not the most intelligent thing to do.

"So beautiful," he said, stroking her face. Her whole body twitched with the desire to get his hand away from her, but there was still nothing she could do. She lowered her eyes and tried to look anywhere else. Without warning the hand that had been stroking her face struck her. "But you need to learn your place in this family. I can see that Kaname has been lax in your education, allowing you to be raised by a hunter in the presence of a level D," he sighed. "It's no wonder you need to be re-educated." Helplessly she watched as he reached down and began unbuttoning the coat of her uniform. He opened the coat and she hoped for a second that he might untie one of her arms to take it off which might give her a chance.

Instead he studied his fingernails for a second, and then used them to cut through the material from the shoulders of the coat all the way down the arms allowing it to fall from her body along with her shirt. He stared at the flesh that this revealed like an artist admiring his masterpiece. She could feel his eyes on her like a physical touch and felt corrupted by it. She shivered both in responses to the air and to this new, unclean feeling. Unbidden tears began streaming down her face. Her tears turned into silent sobs when he took a finger and ran it over the upper swell of her breast. As he touched the clasp of her bra nestled between her breasts she mentally cursed herself for giving into the desire to wear bras that were easy to fasten. The shoulder straps of her bra had been cut when Rido has sliced through the other layers of her clothes, so once the clasp was undone, it fluttered uselessly to the ground at her feet. She closed her eyes and turned her head away as her bra fell away from her breasts. She knew what was going to happen, just as she knew that begging would not help. So instead she mentally prepared herself for his touch on her breasts.

Instead of touching her, Rido stood there admiring her skin, the pale flesh exposed and that intoxicating red liquid flowing from the shallow cuts along the tops of her arms and the sword wound in her shoulder. Surprisingly the desire that she stirred in him wasn't blood lust, it was just plain lust. He had originally decided to take her clothing as a way to embarrass her, but now. . . he had other plans.

**Well there you are, Chapter 1 up and running. Tell me what you think, I welcome all comments. (Including flames) Thank you for taking the time to read the first chapter of my story!**

**~Stickdonkeys**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 already! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, it gave me the inspiration to write in my breaks from studying! Here is the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no claim to, nor any profit from the writing of this fanfic. **

Chapter 2:

Rido tipped his head sideways as he eyed his bound niece. Admiring again how the moonlight accentuated her pale flesh and the depth of her red-brown eyes: eyes so much like his late sister's. But as he had noted before there was a fighting spirit in Yuuki that Juuri had never had, and something about that increased the challenge and made him want her even more. With that thought in mind he closed the distance between them and grabbed a handful of her hair to hold her head still and kissed her on the lips.

The only though that crossed though her mind at the assault was that it needed to end, so she did the one thing that she could with her limbs bound and bit him. She had to admit that she was more than satisfied with the effect that her new fangs had on his flesh when he pulled away, effectively ripping two jagged tears in his lip. She felt herself smirk in, not joy, but appreciation at the fact that she had won that small victory over her uncle.

He seemed confused as he reached up to touch the blood that was flowing from his lip. When he pulled his hand back and looked at it, the confusion turned to anger. "So," he snarled, "You have decided to bite like an animal? I was going to be tender with you, but it seems that you don't appreciate that kind of treatment. I can play rough too."

For the first time Yuuki felt true fear for her well being settle into her gut. Though she knew that he had killed her father and, in essence, her mother, she had never actually believed that he would kill her. She had expected that any moment Zero or Kaname would still come to the rescue, if she could just keep him occupied long enough. Now she had made a grave miscalculation and truly pissed him off. There was no amusement left in his eyes, no affection, (which had been creepy enough), just anger. Pure murderous anger.

As he approached her again, Yuuki began to desperately look for help. Aidou seeing her distress and fear decided that it was time to try and provide a distraction. He knew that there was nothing he could actually do, but like Yuuki he was hoping to try and buy time for Kaname to get there and save them all, and maybe taking Rido's attention for a moment would give them the edge they needed.

"Maybe she wouldn't have bit you if you would let her free so it's at least a fair fight," he said, sounding a lot braver than he felt. Yuuki shot him a look that was a mixture of gratitude and fear for his well being. He didn't fully understand her fear until Rido turned to face the group and demanded to know who had spoken. Aidou stood silently and felt his heart stop. Before, even thought there had been disgust there had at least been sanity in Rido's eyes, now even that was gone.

When there was no answer, Rido began approaching the group of noble vampires. His power was crackling in the air around him and he looked like he was about to lose control of it. It was then that they realized that despite his feral nature, Kaname was really a rather tame pureblood. Rido on the other hand was not just going to physically reprimand Aidou, he was going to kill him.

Yuuki realized this at the same time, and though it was the last thing she wanted to do she knew that she needed to regain Rido's attention. He wanted to hurt her, not kill her straight out, so she would stand a better chance of survival. "Uncle," she called, "are you so petty that you would waste your time with them for simply speaking? You didn't ban speaking in your command, and besides, the bravery it took to speak up shows that you are upsetting them and showing them why they need to respect purebloods. If you can hurt another pureblood imagine what you could do to a lesser vampire."

"I see you are starting to understand what I am trying to teach you," he said with praise in his voice, until he turned around and saw the disgust on her face at what she had just said and realized that she had been speaking sarcastically. "Besides, you and I have unfinished business, don't we Yuuki?" he asked with a grin she didn't like in the least. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aidou relax minutely and felt a bit of relief until she saw the way that Rido was eyeing her again.

As Rido studied her he was again struck by just how beautiful she was. Especially with the scent of her blood on the air and the look of determination in her eyes coupled with the fear in her eyes. He felt his emotions soften as he looked at her, going from murderous to playfully sadistic. He had no intention of killing her, yet anyway. In a flash he was in front of her, gently stroking her cheek where a purple bruise was beginning to bloom. "So beautiful," he breathed.

Even though it hadn't been such a smart thing to do the first time, Yuuki decided to try to bite his hand to keep him from touching her. Somehow sensing the idea though, Rido withdrew his hand and her teeth hit together in thin air. "But so wild," he finished. "Do you know how you tame a beast, Juuri?"

When it was clear he expected a response, she shook her head. That wasn't what he wanted from her though, because he struck her again, this time in the stomach. As she panted, trying to catch her breath, he shook his head and said, "When I ask you a question I expect a verbal answer. So do you know how one tames a beast?"

"No," she gasped out, "I don't." When he started to raise his hand again she added "Uncle."

"Hmmm," he said, leaning in to whisper in her ear, holding her head still. "You have to make it realize that it has no power and no hope except for your good will. Then and only then will it submit to you."

She felt her heart rate quicken with fear and, struggling to keep her voice steady asked, "And what does that have to do with anything?"

He said nothing in reply, but instead looked straight into her eyes with his mismatched set and grabbed her breast. His touch shocked her, because though the move had been sudden and aggressive, he touched her gently. There was nothing gentle in his eyes however; they were eyeing her like a lion observes the gazelle that it is going to eat for dinner.

She closed her eyes to avoid seeing him, but that only served to make what his hands were doing to her body have all the more impact. Without the stimulus from her eyes to focus on, her senses automatically looked to other sources, like the nerves on her skin and the sounds of skin on skin that her heightened hearing provided. His hands were now roaming all over her upper body and had begun to move to play with the top of her skirt.

_Please, _she mentally begged, _don't be doing what I think you are going to do._ Her whole body was quaking now with the realization that she had no power to do anything to stop what might happen. Now she understood what he had meant when he had said that lack of power was a great taming factor. She would have done almost anything to get him to stop what he was doing.

When his hand touched her right thigh and began moving upward, she started sobbing silently again. Then, without warning, he pulled back his hand with a yelp. She opened her eyes in surprise to see him cradling his hand, and it took her a moment to process that he had brushed against Artemis under the edge of her skirt.

_Take that you bastard,_ she thought with a laugh.

Again her reaction was the wrong one, because it caused her uncle's capricious mood to shift once again. "Think it's funny when other people get hurt, do you?" He asked, madness once again in his eyes. "Let's see how you like it when you get hurt. " The next thing she knew, he was behind her and inside her. She felt a cry rise up her throat at the pain of it and tears begin streaming down her face as she realized that he was raping her. Suddenly, he grabbed a fist full of her hair and tipped her head to the side.

"See, not nice is it?" he breathed into her ear. Then he kissed the side of her neck and prepared to sink his teeth into her jugular. She was prepared for the pain of the bite, but instead there was a loud noise and a pain like she had never experienced before in her life.

As Zero stepped into the night air, the wind blew the scent of blood to him. He was impressed that he could even smell blood anymore with all of the red liquid covering him: both his and his twin brothers. What surprised him even more was that despite the fact that the scent was a little different, the blood was Yuuki's. He figured that Kaname would have gotten her to safety by now and not left her here in the middle of a war. Forgetting for a moment that Yuuki was now a cursed pureblood, he rushed off to help her because the thought of her getting hurt was too much for him.

He followed the scent of her blood on the wind to the moon dorms. At this point the scent was coming from above him and to keep from jumping into the middle of a group of enemies, he sprinted into the building and climbed the stairs to reach the roof. When he got there he saw something that made his heart stop. A vampire, and a pureblood at that, had Yuuki by the hair and was about to drink her blood.

Without thinking, he drew the Bloody Rose level and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the vampire in the shoulder and stopped him from biting Yuuki. Zero felt a surge of triumph in his veins, then Yuuki screamed in pain and he instantly went cold at her cry.

Rido placed his hand over the front of the wound in his shoulder and turned around to face the hunter that had shot him. It had to be a hunter given the way the wound burned, only their weapons did that. He couldn't figure out why a hunter would have shot him given that he had been assured by the vampire council that they would be working on his side to take down Kaname. He was surprised when he turned around and saw who had shot him. He carried a hunter weapon, but he read like a vampire.

Zero too was surprised when Rido turned around. Not only by his mismatched eyes, but by the fact that the unclothed state of his lower body meant that not only had he been about to feed from Yuuki, he had been raping her. Zero felt his fangs elongate in anger and knew that his eyes were glowing as well. How dare that man do that to Yuuki! He would die for this.

"You beast!" he managed to spit out. "What kind of a sick fuck are you? How could you do that to her?"

"How could I do that to her?" Rido asked in reply. "I'm not the one who shot her."

"What are you talking about?" Zero shouted. "I didn't shoot her, I shot you! And I'll shoot you again and this time I'll fucking kill you!" Rido raised an eyebrow and stepped to the side, revealing Yuuki's bare back, which caused him to blush. Once he got over his initial embarrassment he saw the wound in her left shoulder which was weeping blood. A second later he noticed the sword sticking though her right shoulder and felt a new wave of furry towards Rido. He felt his eyebrows narrow in anger and began stalking towards Rido will the intention of shooting him right between his eyes at point blank range.

Rido just stood there with an amused smile on his face and waited for Zero to reach him the said, "Go ahead. Kill me if you can."

**So what do you think? **

**And now that I have let you read the story I would like to give a big thank you to cosmic-lover,Roseheart11 and rimalovesshiki for reviewing. Ya'll encouraged me to write this chapter more quickly than I otherwise would have. **

**As always, thank you for reading**

**~Stickdonkeys**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry everyone, I know I got your hopes up for speedy updates when I updated the day after I posted, but life got in the way. I hope this chapter will more than make up for the delay. And again thank you to everyone who reviewed. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, make no claim to and am making no profit from this story. **

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Kaname Kuran walked with his back straight, and his head held high, surveying everything around him with cold calculation and taking in all the details of the senate house. Though used to rich surroundings himself, he was slightly disgusted with the opulence of it all. Especially because to a discerning eyes, it was apparent that everything about the grand furnishings was less grand than it appeared at first glance. If he looked closely at the golden furnishings he could see minute cracks in the finish that hinted to the fact that they we gilded, rather than the genuine article. _Much like the council themselves,_ he thought with a small wry smile. _But they still have their uses, even if they are now walking the line of being more of a nuisance than an aid. _

Even though them reviving Rido was a nuisance, it also served the purpose of bringing the conflict to a head when Kaname was still in a position to use Zero to fight and kill Rido, so it was still beneficial. It also had the benefit of requiring him to speed up Yuuki's reawakening as well. Overall the benefit for Kaname's plans outweighed the nuisance of the action so he was OK with it.

The purpose of his meeting with Ichio was to remind him that there were more powerful forces out there than one crazed pureblood, and (if possible) to persuade him to realize the mistake he had made in taking Rido's side against Kaname. When he reached the door to Ichio's office, he didn't even bother to knock as he opened the door and walked into the office. The man behind the desk looked up from his papers and for a millisecond something akin to fear flashed through his eyes before it was replaced with calculation.

"Kaname-sama" he began smoothly, "this is a pleasant surprise. What brings you here today?"

"Don't pretend you're surprised to see me," Kaname said with a cold smile. "You know exactly why I'm here."

Ichio raised an eyebrow at Kaname's tone and replied, "Why Kaname-sama, I have no idea what you are talking about, but it is apparent that something had riled you. May I enquire as to its nature?"

"Mad," Kaname replied with a small laugh. "It, or should I say _he_ is mad."

"Whomever do you mean?" Ichio asked feigning innocence because even though he had one pureblood on a leash, it would not be wise for him to invoke the anger of another, and he had only survived as long as he had by being wise. "Surely my grandson has not displeased you. If that is the case, I apologize for his insolence and would be glad to reprimand him myself the next—"

"Stop," Kaname cut him off, bored with this exchange. "This mincing of words does not reflect well on men of our stations. I will speak frankly, I know that the senate had a hand in the revival of Rido Kuran and while I do not fault you for siding with the only pureblood that was ever under your control, I wonder how much you know of his and my personal history?"

Ichio surveyed him warily, then replied slowly and gently, "I know very little, only that you were the one that nearly destroyed him on the night the Juuri-sama and Haruka-sama were killed. What I have never understood is why you let him live, when even as a child you could defeat him like that." Though he would never have said it aloud this was the reason the Ichio had applied to be Kaname's guardian all those years ago, someone with that much power needed to be kept close and made loyal.

Kaname smiled in response to those words, but it was a feral smile that did nothing to put the other man at ease. "Yes that is odd, isn't it? And you are right that I am infinitely more powerful than Rido, but I am also unable to kill him due to some . . . personal issues. But that will be taken care of shortly by someone that I have groomed strictly for this purpose." Kaname paused and thought his next words through carefully. The silence stretched for a few seconds, and it was an extremely uncomfortable silence for Ichio.

Finally Kaname spoke again and said, "That is one of the reasons that I am excusing your act of aggression towards me, and yes, that is what I see releasing Rido as, is that it has worked nicely into my plans and should cause no harm to any that I care about. However, I would caution you in the future to pick you allies and enemies more carefully, because as you have seen, I do not hesitate to destroy those that are deleterious to my plans and you are walking the line of being more of an impediment than an aid."

"Is that a threat?" Ichio asked, anger creeping into his tone.

"I intended it as a warning but take it as you will," Kaname replied calmly. "And remember that by unleashing Rido you have taken full responsibility for any actions he may commit while he is at large, if any harm comes to anyone, which is likely given Rido's temperament, it will be as if it had been done by your hand."

"I will remember that," Ichio said coldly, "But who will hold me responsible?"

"I'm sure someone will," Kaname said with another cold glance. "Well, I'll be going now though I do feel that you owe me some thanks?"

"And why would that be Kaname-_sama_?" Ichio asked, the title spoken with sarcasm.

"Because," Kaname replied with a sarcastic smirk, "I have kept Rido from biting the hand that fed him so to speak. He is just as like to turn on friend as foe, but you won't have to deal with that, because he will soon be gone and for forever this time."

"You seem very sure of your 'perfect' warrior," Ichio said. "What will you do if he fails you?"

Kaname just shook his head and said "Good night Ichio. Remember my warning," before disappearing into the night.

Once the pureblood was gone, Ichio rested his head in his hands on the desk and wondered if he had perhaps made a mistake in which pureblood to ally himself with in this conflict.

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Kaname appeared at the front gates of the school just in time to see a vampire about to stab the headmaster in the back. With a small surge of power, he turned that vampire into dust and approached Kaien Cross to aid in the battle, only to be stopped dead in his tracks by a wave of power that brushed him like a caress and passed him by, leaving only the headmaster and himself standing in a circle of dust. At the touch of that wave, all the level E's that had been about to attack were disintegrated.

"Thank you Kaname-kun," the Headmaster said, leaning against a tree and closing his eyes in weariness. "I don't know how much longer I could have kept that up. Apparently even legends lose their edge if they don't keep a hand in it." He ended his last statement with a tired smile.

"You're welcome," Kaname said with a fond smile, "I'm sure you would have done the same for me if I was otherwise occupied with an enemy."

"I didn't mean just the one," Cross said, opening his eyes to look at Kaname. "Weren't you the one responsible for the destruction of all of these vampires?"

"I thought it was you," Kaname said in confusion.

The headmaster laughed, "If I was capable of that do you think that I would have fought them hand-to-hand for so long?"

"If you didn't do it and I didn't do it, then who did?" Kaname asked hypothetically. The headmaster opened his mouth to suggest a possibility enjoying the light breeze that had just blown into his hot face, but he never had the chance to voice it because suddenly Kaname turned his head towards campus with murder in his eyes. That breeze had not just brought refreshment: it had brought the scent of blood to Kaname. Yuuki's blood.

"Yuuki," Kaname breathed before he sprinted at vampire speed towards the moon dorms, the direction her scent had come from.

Though weary, Kaien Cross felt new life enter into him at the mention of Yuuki's name and the sudden change in Kaname's demeanor and pushed away from the tree to follow Kaname at a sprint that was not nearly as fast as Kaname's but with him headed that direction there was only one place he could be headed: the moon dorms. Not for the first time, Cross hoped that his decision to keep vampires and humans in the same place had not resulted in harm for his daughter.

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**There we go. The first look at Kaname in this fic. I will update again as soon as possible and get back to the Rido/Yuuki/Zero conflict in the next chapter. **

**As before a special thanks to Theskyisthelimit123, Roseheart11, rimalovesshiki, and Cosmic-lover for their reviews!**

**And thank you again for reading my chapter**

**Stickdonkeys**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry everyone, school went a little crazy and I haven't had time to work on this as much as usual. That said thank you to everyone who has either read or reviewed so far. You really make my day.**

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Zero stood right in front of Rido, his gun pressed into Rido's forehead and his arm shaking with the need to pull the trigger. Again Zero was struck by the arrogance of the purebloods. Here he was, the bringer of death, and Rido stood there with an amused look on his face, no fear evident at all: it was unnatural.

With what he had just done to Yuuki, all Zero wanted was to wipe that look off his face forever. "Die you bastard," Zero said, intending to pull the trigger of the Bloody Rose to accent his words. Seconds passed and nothing happened. This was not because Zero was pausing for dramatic effect, but rather because his finger wouldn't move. The muscles in his arm were tensed, but he couldn't force his finger to pull the trigger.

At the look of confusion on Zero's face Rido laughed. "So Kaname's little knight is just as ineffective as his pawns," He said slapping Zero away from him. "I don't understand why so many purebloods have taken an interest in you. First my _dear_ fiancée Shizuka and then my niece and 'nephew'. There doesn't seem to be anything special about you from what I can see."

Zero stayed on the ground trying to figure out what had gone wrong. He had shot Kaname before, and just now he had shot Rido and Yuuki so obviously the purebloods were capable of being shot. This was the second time he had been unable to shoot a pureblood and the first time he had assumed was because Shizuka had turned him into a vampire. _Why can't I shoot him_ Zero asked himself in anger _both the times it has actually been important for me to shoot one of those damn purebloods, I couldn't do it_.

Making sure to keep Zero in his line of sight, Rido walked to Yuuki and ran a finger up her back, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. The freshly spilled blood hit Zero's nose and made his throat constrict with hunger. Rido sensing the change in Zero smiled predatorily.

"So you thirst for her blood," he asked. "Do you love her?" Zero turned his head away instead of answering.

Yuuki sensed her uncle's anger at the silence of Zero, though she couldn't see that Zero had also snubbed Rido, and knew that she needed to draw his attention again to protect her childhood friend. "He doesn't love me," she said, "Not like you mean anyway. He likes me, but more like a sister. We were raised together for goodness sake."

"So naïve," Rido said running a finger gently up the side of her face, watching the skin around Zero's eyes tighten in anger as she twitched away. Then without warning he grabbed Zero by the hair and drug him around Yuuki to drop him at her feet. "That boy loves you. Otherwise your blood would not have satisfied his hunger and kept him from falling to Level E. Even with Kaname's blood in him, don't look so surprised boy, I can smell him in you, not just anyone's blood could have done that."

Yuuki couldn't look at Zero to see if Rido's words were true, because she was too embarrassed about being topless in front of her childhood friend. They had shared many things, but her nudity was too much for her.

"What would it take to cause you to go mad with your need to feed from her?" Rido asked, eyeing Zero. "Would it take more of her blood?" With that he ran a claw-like hand up Yuuki's back drawing blood with all five fingers and causing her to arch and cry out in pain.

"Stop it," Zero panted, still refusing to look at Rido because that would put Yuuki's naked form into his line of sight.

"Or you'll what?" Rido asked licking Yuuki's blood out from under his finger nails. Zero seemed to shrink as his shoulders sagged with the realization that he could do nothing. Riso wasn't one of those stupid Day Class fan girls that he could intimidate into doing what he wanted, nor was he one of the Level E's that Zero occasionally killed for the council.

"Zero," Yuuki breathed, tears filling her eyes as the helplessness she now saw in him. He had always seemed so strong, and now here he was broken. It made her hate Rido even more.

"Oh dear," Rido whispered in her ear, "I think I may have crushed his spirit. That was too easy. I think my next target will be the feral looking brunette over there that spoke out when you all first confronted me. Then I will move on to you. Time will be the taming factor with you, I believe. Besides, in chess one generally takes the pawns and lesser pieces before they challenge the King and Queen. "

For the first time in her life, Yuuki felt so much rage at his words that her limbs began to shake. She drew her breath in a shuddering gasp and felt her teeth grind together in murderous rage. Rido was standing there talking about _people _as though they were a game. Though what Shizuka had done to Zero was bad, she had acted out of revenge, not simply for her own amusement. At least her behavior made more sense to Yuuki. When Rido turned his back on her and walked toward the nobles, being sure to kick Zero on the way by, Yuuki felt heat spread through her body, originating somewhere near her heart.

"Rido," she said, surprised by the power in her own voice.

"I will be back with you shortly my dear," He replied turning his head slightly to look at her. Something he saw in her eyes must have surprised him because he stopped and turned to face her fully. "Now Yuuki," he said soothingly, "it would be a good idea to calm down now."

Hearing the changes in tone all of the vampires that were present, who had previously had their heads turned so that they didn't see what was going on, looked towards the two purebloods. From Rido, with the palms of his hands facing Yuuki at about chest high, to Yuuki who quite frankly was scary at the moment, though they never would have thought it possible. None of her usually kindness was present in her eyes, rather it had been replaced by power and they glowed a menacing red to accentuate the change. Her usually smiling face was replaced with cold calculation that was so foreign that they were unsure what she would do next. For the first time they could truly believe what their senses had told them: that Yuuki was a purebloodd vampire and not a human. Suddenly she smiled and that was actually worse than the cold calculation had been, because it was a cold and predatory smile that should never have been on her face.

"Actually, Uncle," Yuuki said coldly, "I think it would be a good idea if you died now." With that, a wave of power swept out from Yuuki destroying Rido where he stood. Not just ripping him limb from limb but vaporizing him. The wave didn't stop there though, The noble vampires watched as it extended across the campus destroying every vampire in its path, except for the night class who were left standing in piles of sand looking around curiously.

"Come back from that," Yuuki said before she felt her anger leave her and her knees go weak from the lack of the strength the anger had provided. Seeing their pureblood princess collapsing, the nobles rushed forward, but were beaten by Zero who caught her and eased her to the ground placing her head in his lap, where he proceeded to take off his coat to cover her nakedness. Not wanting to be outdone by a level D the nobles all followed suit and soon Yuuki was covered in a pile of coats.

"We should get that sword out of her shoulder so she can be more comfortable," Ruka suggested quietly. When no one immediately volunteered she said, "Aidou, why don't you try?" Rather than reply sarcastically he knelt down behind her and grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled, expecting it to come out easily. He was shocked when it didn't move. He tried again, pulling a little harder this time, and instead of the sword moving Yuuki's whole body moved and she screamed in pain.

"NO," she panted, "Just leave it. It hurts, but not as much as you yanking on it does."

"But Yuuik-sama," Kain began."

"Please," she begged, "Just leave it for now." Then she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. They were standing there around her trying to figure out what out what they were going to do next when they heard an odd sound, like an animal in pain.

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The first thing Kaname saw when he reached the roof of the building was a circle of vampires around two vampires in the middle. As his eyes took in every detail of the scene his heart constricted within his chest. Lying stretched out on the ground covered with different coats was a figure with a head of long brown hair resting in the lap of a silver headed vampire with silent tears pouring from his violet eyes. For once his perfect composure failed him and he heard a strangled sort of noise, and even though he knew it came from him he didn't care.

He sprinted across the space to the circle of nobles where he proceeded to drop to his knees beside his sister and the woman he loved. The air was saturated with the scent of her blood. He reached out and gently stroked her bruised face. He lifted the coat covering her shoulders gently trying to find the source of the blood. He was shocked at the gaping hole left by the bullet in her left shoulder and the lacerated mess that was her skin. He reached out to touch her, and then pulled his hand back thinking better of it.

"What happened?" he asked in a cold dead voice not lifting his eyes from his fiancée.

"Kaname-sama" Aidou began, "I'm so sorry. . ."

"I don't want apologies!" Kaname snapped looking up with his eyes glowing. "I want to know what happened to the girl I left in your care. How did she get shot and end up in this condition?" As he continued speaking his words began leaving his mouth like daggers causing those around him to flinch at his anger. "I don't doubt that Zero shot her, but I want to know _how_ it happened so that I can know whether to kill him quickly or draw it out and who else I should include in this destruction."

"Kaname-senpai" Yuuki breathed her eyelids fluttering open.

"Yuuki!" he cried in joy at seeing her open her eyes. She smiled weakly at his reaction to her and began to reach up to stroke his face with her right hand only to stop with a wince of pain and grab at her shoulder.

"Yuuki?" his joy turned instantly to worry; he looked more closely and noticed that underneath the coats there was a sword through her shoulder. He looked up in confusion; his "friends" had tried to take care of her, but had left something as obvious as a sword that could cause her pain in her body. He couldn't understand it. It wasn't like she would bleed to death if they took it out. It was actually more likely that the reverse would be true.

Seeing his leader's confused expression Kain replied, "We couldn't get the sword out of her shoulder, Kaname-sama."

"We tried," Ruka said with tears in her voice that were not present on her face, "but the more we pulled, the harder it seemed to be stuck and the more pain it caused her, so we just left it in as she asked us to. Maybe you can remove it."

"I'll try," Kaname said wanting that cursed weapon out of his dear girl. "Ruka can you hold her upright for me?"Ruka nodded wordlessly and knelt down and lifted Yuuki's small frame into a sitting position, careful to keep the coats wrapped around her and to not jar the sword. She ran the sword under her arm and held Yuuki in a gentle embrace, holding the back of her neck with one of her hands and whispering in her ear over and over that it would all be over soon.

Ruka's behavior only solidified Kaname's belief that he needed to know what had happened to Yuuki and that someone would pay for it. This belief was further strengthened when he grabbed Yuuki's shoulder to give himself the leverage to pull the sword and she flinched away from his touch. Unsure of what he had done to hurt her, he changed the grip so that his hand was resting around the sword, and not actually restraining her. He pulled on it gently, expecting it to slide out easily, but it didn't even act as though he was putting any force on it at all so he pulled a little harder thinking that it may be stuck in the bones of her shoulder. This time the sword moved a little bit, but Yuuki cried out and arched her back in pain causing Kaname to stop.

"I'm so sorry Yuuki," Kaname said, "I know this is hurting you, but we have to get this sword out for your body to heal. I'm going to pull again on the count of three, are you ready?" Yuuki nodded weakly. "Ok," Kamane took a deep breath hating that he was hurting her it went against everything in him to cause her any pain even if it was for either of their own goods. "One . . . two . . ." but before he could say "three," Kaien Cross's hand was placed on his own restraining him from pulling again.

"Kaname," Cross said in a voice that was almost unrecognizable as his own. "Don't try to pull that sword out. Please allow me to do it."

"Headmaster," Kaname said, "I do not believe that is a good idea. Even though I know that you are not hurting her for your own pleasure, I do not know if I will be able to restrain myself if she cries out while you try to remove the sword. I may attack you and possibly even kill you. Pureblood vampires are very protective of those they love."

"So are humans," Kaien said, "and if I let you try to remove that sword you will not be able to and it will only cause her more pain. That is a specialized hunter sword that is designed to open like an umbrella once vampire blood touches it so it can't be removed during battle. The only way to pull it out is if the vampire is dead, or if a hunter who has nothing but love in his heart for that vampire removes it. Watch."

Kaname reluctantly released his hold on the sword and waited while Kaien closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and resolutely grabbing the hilt of the sword and pulling it out in one clean stroke. Kaname's fears proved to be unfounded because all Yuuki did was pant a little as the sword came free. She had heard Kaname's words and had bitten her lip in an effort to keep from crying out no matter how much it hurt because she didn't want to see her adoptive father hurt by an angry Kaname or the other way around.

Kaien gave Kaname a weak smile and a nod, which Kaname returned before he looked at Yuuki with anguish in his eyes. The next thing he had to do would not be painless or easy. He _had_ to get that bullet out of her shoulder. He felt his limbs grow cold and a strange itchy feeling in his throat at the knowledge of what he was going to have to do.

"Yuuki," Kaname said gently, "I'm going to get the bullet out of your shoulder now. It's going to hurt, but I have to do it. Try not to move too much. I'll be as quick as I can." The sorrow in his voice made Yuuki cry. So many people had been hurt tonight just because she hadn't been strong enough to destroy RIdo until she had been provoked.

She didn't have long to contemplate how everything was her fault thought, because soon thought was erased by the white hot pain of Kaname's fingers in her shoulder searching for the bullet. He felt remorse at the feeling of her muscles twitching in pain around his fingers, but it was necessary to remove the bullet, so he dug deeper, until he felt his fingers touch the bullet. He tried to grab it but she twitched away in pain when he touched it. Despite this, he delved again and this time knowing about where it would be, grabbed it and pulled, a little roughly since it was causing him pain as well and removed it from her shoulder. He dropped it onto the roof and wordlessly looked at Ruka who passed Yuuki to him without a question.

Yuuki crawled willingly into his lap but when he put an arm around her flinched away from his touch. She looked up at him with sad eyes that he had never wanted to see in her face and her face held both an apology and a request. He nodded in assent and tipped his head sideways exposing his neck to her. She smiled sadly and licked up the side of his neck before she sank her fangs in. While she drank he placed his arm around her waist and stroked her hair, surprised to find that she was crying while she fed. He was not in a position to know that they were tears of relief and sorrow at what she had been through and forced to do that day. He had no idea what had happened but Kaname _was _going to find out, and then there would be retribution.

The noble vampires saw the look on their leader's face and prayed that when Kaname found out what had happened, they would not be held responsible.

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**Here we are ya'll a nice long chapter to make up for the wait. I hope you enjoy.**

**~Stickdonkeys**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here we are all, Chapter 5. Sorry for the delay. So without further ado, here it is.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no claim to nor any profit from this fan fic. **

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Chapter 5:

When Yuuki began to feel full, she pulled her fangs from Kaname's neck and placed a gentle kiss over her bite mark before it faded. Then she rested her head on his shoulder and sat there enjoying the scent of his skin and wishing that what had happened to her had just been a nightmare. But she knew that it wasn't. It was real and she had just killed. True Rido and the Level E's had deserved death, but with everything else that had happened that evening it was just too much. She took a deep breath trying not to cry again and feeling more tears welling in her eyes as she attempted to stop them.

Feeling her shuddering intake of breath, Kaname knew that he had to say something to her. He wanted to ask if she was OK but he knew that would be the wrong question. He still didn't know what had happened, but knew that she was not OK right now and that knowledge fostered an impotent anger since he didn't know who to blame: though he was on that list. But more important than retribution was comfort. He continued to stroke her hair wordlessly struggling to find the right thing to say, and then he settled for the only thing that he knew was true. "It's over now," he whispered gently. "Nothing else will happen to you, I swear it. If I have to destroy everything, I will make sure that you are safe from now on."

His gently spoken words had a strange effect on Yuuki. She started crying, not just the small sobs that had been coming from her off and on, but the full body-racking sobs that made his heart break. She clung to him like he was the only thing keeping her afloat on her sea of sorrow. He looked around trying to see how the nobles reacted to seeing a pureblood in hysterics and was again shocked by the degree of sorrow he saw there.

When Yuuki had begun crying, it had taken everything that Aidou and Ruka had not to try and comfort her, but the fact that Kaname was now there and was still furious had restrained them. Even Kaien was slightly afraid of what Kaname might do if anyone else was to touch Yuuki right now, he had such a feral light in his eyes and his anger was nearly tangible. The usually docile headmaster could feel his own anger at what had been done to his "children." Zero hadn't moved since they had arrived on the roof and still had the same blank expression in his eyes. And Yuuki, she was crying like he had never seen her cry before. He knew that Kaname was going to do something drastic that may forever change life as they knew it and rather than try to stop him, Kaien intended to offer him whatever help he could. That was if Kaname would accept it. But before any of that could happen, they needed to get Yuuki to somewhere safe she could rest.

"Kaname-kun," he said gently, "I think we should get her somewhere quiet where she can rest. Don't you think so too?"

Kaname was loath to move her with her so emotionally fragile, but he knew that the headmaster was right and she would be more comfortable inside, especially since the dawn was coming soon. "Yuuki" he asked, "would you like to go inside somewhere?" She nodded into his shoulder. "Do you care where we go?" She shook her head. She had stopped sobbing, but her wordlessness worried him.

"You can take her to my home if you would like," Kaien offered.

"That would be wonderful," Kaname replied. "Thank you." He debated a minute whether he should let her walk or carry her there but when he tried to gently remove her arms from his neck and she didn't release him he decided to carry her.

Though she knew it was a weak thing to do, Yuuki just couldn't bring herself to leave the protection offered by being in Kaname's arms. She just wanted to feel secure right now. She knew that she could have walked on her own but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. In disgust at her own weakness, she clung even more tightly to Kaname before she fell asleep.

He cradled her gently to his chest as he noticed the change in her breathing and followed the headmaster back to his house. Once there carried her to her bedroom and laid her sleeping form gently on her bed and pulled the covers up. He prepared to leave her to rest when she grabbed his hand.

"Please don't be mad at the others, it was my idea to face Rido," she said quietly. "And my miscalculation of my own strength. Please forgive me for hurting you."

"Silly thing," he said gently stroking her hair. "Apologizing for getting hurt. Though challenging a fully mature pureblood was foolish. I don't know what happened tonight, but if you need to talk to someone, I'm here, ok?"

She nodded and smiled sadly. "I'll be right back," he said, trailing his hand down her face and heading for the door. "Try to rest."

"Kaname-senpai, can you send Ruka-senpai in? I just don't want to be alone," She explained in a small voice. Unable to deny her anything he smiled sadly and nodded closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, she curled into a small ball keeping her eyes open because with them s=closed she could still feel Rido's hands on her skin.

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Aidou and the others were sitting in the headmaster's living room waiting for Kaname to get back for Yuuki's room. They all secretly hoped that he would be there for a long time, and that maybe she would tell him what had happened because none of the nobles were relishing the thought of being the one to tell Kaname what had happened on the roof. Even though they knew that there was nothing they could have done to help Yuuki, they were ashamed that they had done nothing.

Much too quickly for their taste, Kaname walked into the room. He settled himself into an arm chair and crossed his legs, and then he looked at them. The anger was gone from his eyes now, but there was something else there that was more troubling and that they couldn't name. "Ruka, Yuuki asked if you would be willing to keep her company until I can return to her."

"Of course I will Kaname-sama," Ruka replied and headed for the door, secretly glad to be away from what was sure to be a bad situation.

Once she was gone, Kaname turned to the rest of the nobles, rested his face on one hand and asked, "So who would like to tell me what happened?" No one wanted to be the one to tell him, so no one volunteered.

"No one?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "Aidou, why don't you tell me what happened?" Kaname suggested.

_Why me? _Aidou thought. _First with Ruka on the roof and now with Kaname-sama here. _

"Well, Kaname-sama," Aidou began, choosing his words carefully so as not to blame anyone. "After you left for your errand, Yuuki-sama decided that she would like to try and defeat Rido so that he couldn't harm anyone else. We followed her and tried to help, but we couldn't." There was now a note of desperation in his voice.

Surprising them all, Kaname said gently, "I understand that noble vampires would have stood no chance against a mature pureblood. Continue please."

Aidou took a deep breath and said, "Yuuki tried to fight him, she even managed to draw blood—"

"She made him bleed?" Kaname cut in amused.

"Yes and that just agitated him more, it was right after she made him bleed that he stabbed her," Aidou said sadly.

"That bastard," Kaname breathed. "What self respecting vampire would wield a hunter's sword in not one but two duels." With his anger the window cracked and the nobles flinched knowing that they could easily become like that window if he desired it.

"What happened next I would prefer you to hear from her, but if you demand it Kaname-sama I will tell you, "' Aidou said.

"I would like to know now," Kaname said coolly. "That way she doesn't have to talk about it if she doesn't want to and I still get to know."

"Well," Aidou began slowly again, "he kissed her." Aidou paused to let Kaname's growl of anger subside, then continued. "And she bit his lip, almost off." Now Kaname had an almost feral grin on his face that was so much like the one Yuuki had worn when she had bit Rido that it was eerie. Aidou winced as he knew what he was going to have to say next, "Then. . . then he. . . well he. . ."

"He what," Kaname prodded.

"He. . . violate her," Aidou said, unable to look at Kaname as he said it.

"HE WHAT!" Kaname bellowed all the windows in the room blowing out with the force of his anger.

Even the headmaster recoiled at the force of Kaname's rage. By sheer force of will Kaname forced his anger back down and looked at Aidou, his eyes smoldering with barely contained rage. Feeling the pureblood's eyes on him, Aidou continued the story trying to get it over with.

"That was when Zero came into the picture," Aidou said. "He saw Rido preparing to feed from Yuuki and shot Rido, forgetting that Yuuki was now capable of being injured by anti-vampire weapons." Aidou had made sure to add that last part so that maybe Kaname would not kill Zero for shooting Yuuki, since it was an accident to begin with, and that boy had had a rough enough evening. Actually to be honest they all had.

"So he shot her trying to save her?" Kaname asked. If he had been in another mood and about another person, he might have found that amusingly ironic, but as it was he didn't find it amusing at all. "Perhaps I can let him live then."

The headmaster let out a sigh of relief at that. Legendary hunter or not, he wasn't sure if Kaname set his mind to killing Zero that he would be able to stop him.

"Then what happened?" Kaname asked sharply.

"Then," Aidou said, "there is no way for me to accurately describe this, Yuuki-sama suddenly became . . ."

"Terrifying," Kain said. "I think the word you are looking for is terrifying."

"Terrifying?" Kaname asked incredulously. "How could that sweet girl become terrifying?"

"Something about her changed," Kain said. "She just snapped. For the first time, I truly believed that she was your sister, Kaname-sama."

"Yeah," Aidou added. "She suddenly became regal, and feral and vaporized Rido."

"She _vaporized _him?" Kaien cut in. "What do you mean by vaporized."

"Exactally what I said," Aidou said, awe present in his voice. "Suddenly a wave of power left her and he just vaporized."

"That was _Yuuki?_" Kaien asked looking at Kaname. Kaname didn't say anything for a moment, then looked at the headmaster with a carefully neutral expression.

"Headmaster," he said, "I would appreciate it if you would watch Yuuki for me. I have an errand that I need to run that cannot wait. She should be in no danger, but I would feel better if you are taking care of her."

"Of course Kaname-kun," Kaien replied, knowing that Kaname was going to take some form of revenge. "I will help you in _whatever_ way I can."

"Thank you," Kaname said, "but I think it would be better for you if you are not too involved in what I am about to do. Thank you all for trying to protect Yuuki and know that I don't blame _you_ for what has happened tonight. Please help the headmaster to protect her until I return."

Not waiting for an answer, Kaname left the room and disappeared into the night. Everyone left in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Not only had he not punished them for their failure, he had realized that there was nothing they could have done differently and had given them a second chance to protect his sister, showing that he still trusted them and that gave them a warm feeling despite the fact that they still felt as though they had failed the first time.

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Ruka knocked quietly on the door that Yuuki's scent was coming from and waited for a reply. When she heard a quiet "come in" she opened the door and walked across the dark room to the small figure curled into a ball on the bed.

"You asked for me, Yuuki-sama?" Ruka said quietly.

"Yes," she replied with a small apologetic smile, "I didn't want to be alone, I'm sorry Ruka-senpai. Also I figured that you would not want to be there for Kaname-senpai asking about what happened tonight. I know that is what he went to do."

"That is true," Ruka said. "I was secretly glad that you called me away from that. I didn't want to relive the events of tonight."

"I don't blame you," Yuuki said, meaning both that she didn't want to relive the events and that she held no ill will towards Ruka for said events.

"I'm sorry," Ruka said. "Let's talk about something less depressing. What would you like to discuss, Yuuki-sama?" When Yuuki didn't immediately reply, Ruka tried to find a subject and realized that she knew very little about the girl that she had despised for so long. "What kinds of things do you like to do in your free time?"

Yuuki looked at her in surprise, Ruka had never shown any interest in her life before it was an odd question but she didn't see where it could hurt to answer her. "I like to do lots of things," Yuuki began, "but my favorite thing to do is . . . this is a little embarrassing but . . . I like to write. I'm not very good at it," Yuuki added quickly blushing a fierce shade of red, "But I enjoy doing it. What do you like to do, Ruka-senpai?"

"I . . . well despite what my parents would like, I like to be outdoors," Ruka said quietly. With those two quiet admissions, the two girls began a tentative friendship and continued talking attempting if not to forget the events of that day, as that was impossible, but to at least not remember them for a little while.

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Kaname reappeared in front of the senate building and the disgust he had felt for them earlier combine with the anger he felt at what their stupidity had cost Yuuki tonight. He understood that they felt challenged by his and Cross' coexistence idea, but they had gone too far. They had miscalculated and it would cost them dearly, but they wouldn't have to worry: they wouldn't survive to make the same mistake again.

As he walked towards the building his aura preceded him and the vampires within felt the threat coming but realized too late that it was not just an irritated pureblood, but a murderous one. He may have been on a mission to purge the world of all traces of the vampire senate, but that was one place that he and Rido truly differed in their personalities: even when provoked Kaname was not cruel. He read the mind of everyone he passed and if they had no knowledge of the Rido incident he killed them mercifully. He was willing to bet that most of them had no idea that they were dying before they were dead.

However, anyone that had any knowledge of Rido he exerted the power of a pureblood to get them to follow him as he collected all the wolves for the slaughter. Eventually he arrived at where he was going: Ichio's office. Rather than simply open the door and walk in like last time, this time Kaname blew the door off its hinges and through the wall.

Ichio looked up from his papers at the noise and this time instead of fading the fear remained present in his eyes. He could see that the young pureblood had come on a mission, and that that mission involved vengeance.

"Now Kaname-sama," Ichio began, "I'm not sure what happened, but I can assure you that it was not my fault."

"Now, now, Ichio," Kaname said cruelly, "I'm surprised at you. I warned you that anything the madman you released did you would be held responsible. What he did however was so egregious that I have decided to include everyone who had any knowledge of your plans in your punishment."

"What do you mean?" Ichio asked.

"While Rido was loose, he did something unspeakable to my sister," Kaname said, power crackling in the air around him.

"Wait," Ichio interrupted, "what sister?"

"The one that Rido was after the night he killed Haruka and Juuri sacrificed herself to protect her child. The same child who you, in your arrogance put back in harms way when you helped Rido to resurrect."

"Kaname-sama I swear I didn't know," Ichio begged. "Please have mercy." At that Kaname laughed a cruel laugh and began to release his power. Unlike Yuuki, Kaname had full mastery of his power and was able to bring about a more slow and painful end for the people responsible for hurting her than she had. Slowly he increased the level of energy until it began to strip flesh from bone and the screams of agony surrounded him. Then the screams fell silent, but Kaname wasn't done yet. He allowed his power to expand until it was swirling in the entire space that used to be filled with the senate house and there was nothing left but bare ground.

He looked around, surveying his handy work then satisfied that it was done, disappeared to reappear seconds later at the Headmaster's house feeling more relaxed than when he had left though he knew that his actions tonight would cause problems tomorrow.

He walked into the house and down the hall to where Yuuki was, and though the others were curious as to where he had been, they didn't dare ask. He wasn't sure if he should knock on the door, but that didn't present a problem because the door was wide open and revealed the two women setting on the bed, Yuuki sleeping curled up on Ruka's shoulder. She smiled sadly as she noticed Kaname standing there. Gently she laid Yuuki down on the bed and covered her with a blanket before the stood and left the room, giving Kaname a deep bow.

"Ruka," he called softly, "Thank you."

She just smiled sadly nodded in ascent unsure if she was deserving of praise. Kaname walked into the room glad that he had destroyed the senate after all the pain they had cause tonight. He sat gently on the edge of the bed and looked at his sleeping 'sister.' The bruise that had marred her face had faded and she looked peaceful in sleep. He had been intending to take her to a safer location but she just looked so relaxed that he couldn't wake her. He leaned down to gently kiss her forehead and stood to leave when she stirred in her sleep and muttered his name. thinking that was all it was, he continued to walk toward the door.

"Kaname," she said again. Shocked by the lack of honorific he turned around to look at her. She had her eyes open and her hand out toward him. "Please, stay with me," She said.

"Are you sure?" he asked wondering if she would want a man near her after her ordeal.

"Yes," she said. He approached her bed slowly and sat down on the edge again. She patted the spot next to the wall. He raised an eyebrow and she patted it again at which he laid down next to her against the wall on his back. She scooted over to him and buried her nose in his neck with I sigh. "I'm glad you're here with me Kaname-oni-sama." She whispered before she fell asleep again with his comforting scent surrounding her.

"I just glad that you still want me here," he whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

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**There we are, chapter 5. I always felt that Kaname needed a better reason to destroy the senate so I gave him one. I hope you enjoyed it **

**As always thank you for reading.**

**Stickdonkeys**

**P.S. don't worry the story isn't over yet.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone, sorry about the wait on this but school has been crazy. hopefully this chapter is worth it :) I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making no profit from this whatsoever.**

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Chapter 6:

Kaname had no idea what had caused him to wake but he had been having a good dream. His dear Yuuki had been sharing a bed with him and he was sad to see it pass. In fact he could still smell her warm sunshiny scent in the air. It had been so real. Then he felt a breath on his neck and opened his eyes. Lying beside him on the bed was none other than Yuuki! Smiling, he reached out his hand and brushed a stray dark-brown strand of hair that had fallen across her pale cheek. What he didn't expect was her reaction. Rather than smile or lean into his touch, she reacted like a wild animal. Suddenly she began striking him and writhing like an animal. "Yuuki," he whispered gently grabbing her wrists in one hand to keep her from striking him and using his other hand to gently shake her shoulder in an attempt to wake her.

Yuuki was asleep when suddenly she felt phantom fingers on her face. Though the touch was delicate in her nightmare she saw mismatched eyes looking at her as a long fingered hand stroked her face. Only this time, she knew that her limbs were not bound and she could fight back. She began striking out where she felt the warm body beside her. She had though she had killed him and was surprised when she actually struck a flesh and blood body. Once she realized that she could hit him she continued to do so until her wrists were restrained.

"Yuuki," said a voice that soothed her, "Please open your eyes." The voice was so different than the voice from her nightmares that she decided to comply. Rather than two mismatched eyes, she saw two perfectly matched ruby irises.

"Kaname," she breathed. Tears filled her eyes as she realized that she had just struck him. There was a slight cut on his lip where one of her hands had hit him. The sight of his blood had an odd effect on her. She was sad that she had made him bleed and more upset that it would be going to waste. She leaned in slowly, warning him with her eyes and licked the blood off his chin. She followed the line of blood up to his split lip where she finished with a kiss.

Though it had been a chaste kiss, it thrilled Kaname. Even after all she had been though she was able to be tender with him. "Yuuki," he breathed against her lips. "What did I do to upset you?"

"Nothing," Yuuki replied pulling back to look at him, "You did nothing. It's just that I can still feel his hands on me when I close my eyes, and I can still feel . . ." she broke off in a sob thinking about what else he had touched.

Not sure if it was the right thing to do, he pulled her against him and tried to soothe her. Rather than pull away she held him more tightly. Something about his loving touch helped to erase the memory of Rido's hands on her skin. In fact the feeling of his lips on hers was gone, replaced by the warm gentleness of Kaname's. Surprised at her own boldness, she reached up and gently grasped a handful of Kaname's hair and pulled his lips to hers for a less than chaste kiss. From the point where their lips met, warmth radiated through her body and she couldn't feel Rido's fingers on her face now, only Kaname's as he gently cupped her cheek in response to her kiss.

He took a chance and licked her lower lip asking for entry into her mouth and she opened it gladly. As his tongue gently explored her mouth they were both surprised at the taste of the other, though it had the same basic composition of their blood, the taste had other characteristics as well. For Yuuki, every touch from Kaname spread warmth through her body.

Both knowing what she was doing and not knowing at the same time, Yuuki unbuttoned Kaname's shirt needing to feel more of his skin. She reached out with a small trembling hand and placed it in the middle of his chest. That felt so good that she moved her hand across his chest enjoying the satin feel of his skin.

Kaname loved the feel of Yuuki's small hands on his chest, but it was awaking something in him that he wasn't sure if she was ready to deal with. He knew if he let her keep touching him that there might be no way to restrain himself. So he gathered her hands in his and gently kissed them before putting them in her lap and putting his hands on her shoulders to gently put some distance between them.

At his rejection, Yuuki felt her dejected. "Do you not like me touching you, Kaname-oni-sama?" She asked.

He was slightly hurt by her return to honorifics, but gave her the answer to her question. "My dear girl, I have wanted nothing else since you forgot about me ten years ago. Every time you even hugged me as I child, it lifted my soul more than I can tell you. I love you so much Yuuki."

"Then show me," she said reaching for him again.

"You don't know what you're asking for Yuuki," Kaname said gently.

"I know exactly what I am asking for Kaname," Yuuki said, anger in her tone. "Do you have any idea what happened today? What was done to me? What the others went through? What I did to all those other vampires?"

Kaname was shocked into silence. He wasn't aware that Yuuki, his dear sweet Yuuki, was capable of such outbursts.

"I feel polluted," she said looking down. "Polluted in so many ways. I killed today, and not by accident," She said tears falling again. "I chose to kill Rido and all of those other vampires. It wasn't the wave of power that killed them. My consciousness went with it and _chose_ who to kill and who to let live. And Rido. . . . what he did . . . I have no innocence left." Then she seemed to gain strength again, "All I have left is love and that's what I need from you."

At her sorrow he felt anger again at what she had been through and a fierce need to protect her. He pulled her to him rubbing her back, "I'm so sorry Yuuki," he said. "I would have protected you from all of that. If I had known what would happen, I would have taken you somewhere safer and left you there. I'm so sorry."

Yuuki was surprised to feel something hit the top of her head and pulled away so that she could see his face. What she saw was so odd that she didn't know whether to laugh or cry: Kaname was crying.

"Shhh," she said reaching up to wipe away one of the clear drops of moisture. "It's not your fault Kaname. You aren't responsible for everything that goes on. Even you aren't that powerful."

"But—" he tried to argue but she cut him off with a passionate kiss.

"No buts" she breathed against his lips before she continued kissing him. He kissed her back needing her affection almost as much as she needed his. When she pulled away for a second to breathe he took advantage of his free lips to trail kisses down her neck. She made a quiet sound of appreciation in her throat and it thrilled him. Suddenly he was thankful for the thin straps of the nightgown she was wearing, since it allowed him more skin to touch and taste.

Yuuki had no idea that a person's touch could do so many things to her. He hadn't even touched her anywhere inappropriate and already she was aroused. Needing to touch him as well, she again moved her hands to his chest, this time, however, they didn't shake. She ran her hands over the warm planes of his chest and back. His skin felt so smooth and flawless that she wanted to see for herself if it was. She gently removed his shirt from his shoulders and dropped it unceremoniously on the foot of the bed. Then she gently pushed him away so that she could look at him.

"Yuuki," he protested as he felt her pushing away. He had been afraid of this it was too much too quickly and she was going to reject him, for now anyway, and he understood that. He looked at his knees feeling bad for putting her in that position so soon after what RIdo had done to her.

"So beautiful," she said. "Are you sure that I'm allowed to have you?" Hearing an odd tone in her voice, he looked up at her face and saw something there he had never expected to see: pure unadulterated lust. Seeing her lust caused his heart rate to speed up as he realized that she was not rejecting him, she was admiring him. That caused changes in Kaname that he had not felt in a long time and he was surprised to realize that without seeing an inch of her skin more than was normal, he too was aroused, almost painfully so.

"Yes, you are," Kaname growled as he kissed her again, this time his hands going for the hem of her gown. He was prepared to stop when her hands joined his on the hem, but all they did was help him remove her clothes. Much as she had moments before, he pulled back to look at her.

At Kaname's scrutiny, Yuuki could feel a blush creep into her cheeks, but it was not because he was looking at her naked body, it was because of the love that shone in his garnet eyes. It made her feel good and happy. She felt herself smile and let him look for a moment more before she tackled him, pinning him to the bed.

"Yuuki," he breathed with a laugh, "what—"

"You looked like you were just going to sit there so I took control," she said with a laugh. Then she licked up the side of his neck and watched the goose bumps form there. She reached slowly between the two of them and tried to get the button of his pants open with one hand and let out a small snort of disappointment when the button wouldn't do as she wanted. She leaned back a little and put her weight on her knees rather than her arm so that she could use her other hand on the offending bit of metal. For some reason the stupid thing still wouldn't come undone.

"Would you like some help," Kaname asked smugly. Yuuki shook her head and continued to glare at the button. Finally she decided that she would just rip it off, if she had to she would sew a new one on for him. As she pulled she heard a small pop and realized that the button had been a snap and not a button at all.

Taking advantage of her surprise, Kaname gently but quickly laid her one the bed and began removing his pants. "Are you sure," he asked one last time. "I don't want you to think you have to do this tonight."

"I'm sure," Yuuki said. "I've never been more sure of anything." With her declaration Kaname finished removing his pants and underwear and knelt by her knees and helped her remove her underwear. Gently he reached between her legs to make sure that she was actually ready for this, and discovered that she was more than ready. He positioned himself over her and placed the head of his penis at her opening. Keeping eye contact he exerted a gentle pressure until he slid into her warm opening. They both groaned in pleasure at the gloriousness of the feeling.

Yuuki had been a little worried that it would hurt when Kaname claimed her, but that need was unfounded. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world, that was until he began moving and then _that _was the most wonderful feeling in the world. She was a little embarrassed at the noises that she was making from the pleasure of it, but then she realized that he was making the same noises, so it was probably normal. Even though her noises embarrassed her, his excited her. Without knowing what she was doing, she bit him as a particularly strong wave of pleasure shook her body.

As Yuuki bit him right below the collarbone, Kaname felt a noise that he didn't recognize rise up his throat. Which seemed to excite her more since she began moving under him, which in turn excited Kaname more. Soon, too soon for his liking, she began gripping his shoulders and her movements got more jerky. Then without warning, she let out a rather loud moan and her body constricted around his, the increased pressure caused his orgasm and he finished with a loud moan of his own.

The two of them lay like that for a little while, panting in the aftermath of their lovemaking. Then Yuuki raised herself up a little and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. "That was amazing, Kaname. Thank you," she whispered.

He rolled off of her and pulled her flush against his side, "No, thank you, Yuuki," he said, kissing the top of her head. Soon her breathing began to even out and she fell asleep. Once he was sure she was asleep Kaname looked toward the door at the figure who was standing in the shadows.

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**So, what do you think? As always thank you for reading my story. And thank you to everyone who has reviewed or read this story so far.**

**Stickdonkeys**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay everyone! School has been absolutely crazy (6 exams and 3 5+page papers in 14 days). But I finally had time to sit down and write this out for you. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this story (except for to my ego).**

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Chapter 7:

Zero stood in the shadows next to the door, murder burning in his eyes that Kaname would do _that _to Yuuki tonight. Especially with him being her brother it was just . . . wrong. That's what it was, wrong. He was about to tell that arrogant pureblood exactly what he thought of what had happened when Kaname shook his head, held up one finger to tell him to wait, looked pointedly at Yuuki and then back at Zero, who got the message loud and clear. What Kaname meant was not "no", it was "not here."

Kaname knew that that Level D was going to have things to say about this evening, though why he chose to listen to them was beyond him. Perhaps it was because destroying him would hurt Yuuki, even if it would please Kaname. But Kaname knew one thing; they were not going to have what was sure to be an argument in Yuuki's bedroom while she was trying to sleep. He gently moved her head off his shoulder and onto the pillow. Then he climbed out of bed, grabbed his pants off the foot of the bed and put them on laughing quietly at the incident earlier with Yuuki and the snap. Fighting a smile at the memory Kaname followed Zero out the door and caught the door as Zero tried to slam it and closed the gently, turning the knob so that even the latch would make no noise. Unsure of where the best place to have their argument would be, Kaname raised an eyebrow at Zero and allowed him to make the decision.

Seeing how calm Kaname was about this situation just served to irritate Zero more. Everything about that man just pissed him off, from the way he had crawled out of bed with no regard for the fact that he was naked to the way he seemed amused at Zero's anger. Knowing that this was probably going to be loud, Zero led Kaname outside and away from the house full of sleeping vampires. He almost laughed at the absurdity of it. _It could almost be a joke, _he thought wryly. _Two purebloods, a handful of nobles, and a Level D walk into the house of a legendary hunter . . . on second thought that isn't so funny. _He shook his head at his random thoughts and decided that they were far enough from the house that they wouldn't disturb anyone. Then he turned to face Kaname.

Seeing the lavender-eyed vampire struggling with how to start the conversation, Kaname took the lead, "So, Kiryuu how long were you in the room before I sensed you? I'm surprised you didn't just leave. I wasn't aware that you had a voyeuristic streak in you." Kaname felt himself smile as Zero opened and closed his mouth a few times like a fish.

"How dare you Kuran," Zero finally yelled. "I will be scarred forever by the sight of your naked ass."

"Ah," Kaname said with a smile, "so you'll remember it? If it wasn't for voyeur purposes, why did you intrude?"

Zero looked down in shame and said, "It sounded like she was in pain so I wanted to make sure she was OK since I failed today. Speaking of what happened today," Zero continued much louder now, "What the hell were you thinking Kuran? In case you forgot, she was raped today and then you take advantage of her and talk her into having sex. Besides she's you SISTER! That is just wrong!"

"How dare you say things like that to me," Kaname said in a quiet deadly voice. "As if I could ever forget what had happened to her while YOU were supposed to be watching her."

"Don't you fucking blame me!" Zero shouted. "I tried to help her but I couldn't do it! I couldn't shoot that pureblooded bastard! Why, tell me why I couldn't shoot him."

"You couldn't shoot him?" Kaname asked. "I don't know why, you were able to shoot Yuuki and you've shot me, so it's not a property of the purebloods. Maybe you're just weak."

"I may have been too weak," Zero replied taunting Kaname, "But at least I wasn't afraid to face him. _I_ at least tried. _I _didn't disappear and leave my _little sister_ to fight my battles for me."

"I was NOT afraid," Kaname said slamming Zero into a tree. "There is more going on here than _you,_ a low level vampire, could ever understand. Besides she was never meant to fight anyone, I expected _you_ to do it after you devoured the blood and life of your _twin_ like the monster you are?"

That last comment really hurt Zero, he felt like a monster for preying on Yuuki for so long and then killing his own twin. What made it worse was that even with the pureblood of Yuuki and Kaname, and the rest of the life force of Ichiru, he had _still_ not been able to kill Rido. "At least I did what is in my nature to do to my brother, I killed him. That's what vampires do. Unlike you. It's not in anything's nature to fuck a sibling."

"That is where you are wrong," Kaname said with a straight face. "How do you think Yuuki was born? Her parents were siblings. That is how purebloods have kept the blood pure."

"You keep saying 'her' parents," Zero said. "What, you aren't her brother."

"For all points and purposes," Kaname said, "I am her brother like you are. But like you I am not her biological brother, though I _am_ related to her by blood whereas you are not."

"So what, you're her half brother?" Zero asked confused.

"No," Kaname said shortly. "You and I are done with this discussion." He turned to walk away from zero and made it about five steps when Zero said, "Some 'great leader' you are. When things get a little uncomfortable you walk off. Bravo, great example for your people."

"You're lucky," Kaname said as he fought down his anger at the insolence of that Level D who couldn't even serve his purpose in life.

"How do you figure that, Kaname-_sama_" Zero asked sarcastically. "Because I'm one of your _special_ people who you use but don't let close to you?"

"No," Kaname said coldly. "Because for some reason I cannot fathom, Yuuki likes you and it would hurt her if I was to kill you though believe me, since you have proved yourself useless, nothing would please me more."

Kaname's harsh words again struck a nerve with Zero and for a moment he wished it was that easy, that he could just provoke the pureblood and die to make up for failing both Ichiru and Yuuki. "Prove it," he said in a suicidal moment. "Try to kill me, I doubt you can do it Kuran. You were too weak to kill Rido and he wound up hurting her, and you know that in the end I will do the same. I've already shot her once, I could do it again. I will do it again, the first time that I have a legitimate excuse, you purebloods are a menace to society."

His words angered Kaname, that someone would even _think_ of shooting his mate was too much for him. He turned to face Zero his eyes red with protectiveness and attacked. That was exactly what Zero had wanted, an excuse to fight Kaname. Now all he needed Kaname to do was to draw first blood and then there would be one less pureblood in the world. It the act of dodging Kaname's fist, Zero's nails scraped the side of Kaname's face allowing a stream of his blood to flow.

The scratch to his face made Kaname more angry than he would ever admit. Even though the nobles treating him like he was delicate and breakable got on his nerves, the lack of respect that Zero had for him was disgusting and he almost gave into the desire to use his powers on Zero, though he wanted the satisfaction of ripping him limb from limb with his bare hands. It was this desire that stayed Kaname's powers and caused him to lash out instead with a clawed hand. Zero dodged the attack but was a little too slow. The attack which should have severed his arm only broke the skin and nicked an artery. Bleeding profusely, Zero smiled.

"Big mistake, bloodsucker," He said before drawing the Bloody Rose and pulling the trigger.

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**Well what do you think? Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story so far. I wasn't expecting it would be this big of a hit. Actually I wasn't expecting that anyone would like it at all. Thank you!**

**Stickdonkeys **


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry about the delay, this has been an awful couple of weeks. Hopefully this will make up for the delay a little bit. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer, I own nothing**

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Seiren had been standing off to the side in the woods, watching silently as she always did, as her master and that odd ex-human bickered. She was shocked at some of the things that Level D _dared_ to say to a pureblood, but what shocked her more was that Kaname allowed him to do it. Content that her master knew what he was doing, she stood and watched. Even when they came to blows, she just watched. However when the ex-human drew the anti-vampire weapon, she decided to intervene.

She launched herself into Kaname and knocked him out of the way causing the bullet that was aimed at his heart to hit his shoulder instead. Then she stood and prepared to throw her daggers at the ex-human who had dared to shoot her master. When he had shot Rido, and Yuuki-sama it had been one thing, but this was too much.

"Stop Seiren," Kaname said quietly. "This is between the two of us. Man against man."

"So what Kuran," Zero barked. "I put away my gun and you repress your powers and we fight this out like men?"

"Exactly," Kaname said with a grin. "Think you can beat me? I'm even wounded already."

"Hell I could beat you if I was the one wounded," Zero scoffed knowing that that _pureblood _had never had to fight with anything other than his magic, unlike himself who had been trained in martial arts to combat vampires who (though the hunters would never truly admit it) had a slight speed advantage. Defeating a crippled, powerless pureblood should be a cake walk.

Kaname had to fight back a smile at the arrogance of that boy, but then ignorance did cause bliss. Kaname wondered for a second if it was fair to fight Zero when he was under the impression that Kaname was just some pureblood brat rather than knowing the truth: that Kaname was far older and more dangerous than Zero could know. Then he decided that he didn't care. That boy was useless to him and was becoming a nuisance. "Bring it on," Kaname said with a laugh.

The fight began, slowly at first but increasing in speed and ferocity as the two tested the weaknesses and strengths of the other and as both realized that they might be a more even match than they had previously believed. To anyone who didn't know what was going on, it would appear that the two were practicing a choreographed fight scene, because for a bit, no one actually landed a blow.

Then suddenly, Kaname faked a blow to the head and snuck through Zero's defenses, hitting him in the chest and knocking him into a tree. Rather than stop the hunter, this just seemed to enrage him and, using the tree as a launch pad, he shot himself towards Kaname when the pureblood was not expecting it.

The force of Zero colliding with Kaname sent them both to the ground, where they proceeded to fight. At one point, Zero had Kaname pinned and he forgot to keep his arm away from Kaname's face and he took advantage of the situation and bit Zero.

"What the hell!" Zero yelled, releasing Kaname. "You just bit me!"

"I am a vampire," Kaname said, "Besides it was not against the rules (I didn't use my pureblood powers) and it accomplished my desired effect."

Zero's face contorted with anger as he tried to come up with an answer to that challenge, then realized that if only powers were off, he had a weapon of his own. "If that's fair," he said, "then so is _this._" Without warning, he redrew the bloody rose and placed the barrel against Kaname's forehead.

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Yuuki awoke abruptly to a sound that stirred her memory and made her left shoulder ache from it. There was no question in her mind that it was a gun shot, but she wasn't sure if the sound was from her memory, or if it was real. Instinctively she reached for Kaname, knowing that he had been there when she had gone to sleep, but he wasn't there.

She sat up and opened her eyes wondering if what she remembered happening between her and Kaname had just been a dream. She quickly realized that it hadn't been a dream because her nightdress was on the foot of the bed rather than on her body and the room had a scent to it that she couldn't place but must be the scent of sex. Underneath that smell was the warm smell that was Kaname and another familiar scent: that of Zero. Now the sound of the gun she had heard made her more nervous. There had always been tension between those two men and with what had happened that day, she wouldn't be surprised if it had finally boiled over.

Standing and pulling her night dress over her head, she walked barefooted towards her door and followed their two scents out the front door of the house, past the sleeping forms of the nobles in the living room. The sound of the door closing behind her woke Aidou and he nudged Ruka and Kain and motioned towards the door with his head. The wordlessly got up and made to follow Yuuki but were stopped by the headmaster.

"Please, stay here," He asked them. "This is a family matter and we should let them settle it. I'll go make sure that things don't get out of hand, OK?" Not wanting to be involved in another conflict between the Kuran family today, they consented and stayed in the house while the headmaster followed Yuuki.

Once she had gotten outside, Yuuki's heart nearly stopped. On the night air, she could smell both Zero and Kaname's blood. Worried for both of their safety's she ran in the direction the blood seemed to be coming from, unmindful of the tree branches that whipped at her skin as she ran. When she got to their battle zone she was shocked at what she saw.

Nearly all the trees in that area had at least some damage and the ground was trampled, but what shocked her the most was the two men in the middle. Kaname was sitting on the ground, bleeding from his right shoulder and Zero was standing over him, eyes glowing red in hatred , holding the Bloody Rose to Kaname's head.

"NO! Zero stop!" Yuuki yelled, running forward and putting herself between the two men. Her voice seemed to stop Zero's blood rage because he lowered the gun and stepped back a little. Yuuki dropped to her knees beside her brother and lover and began checking him for wounds. Other than the gunshot wound in his shoulder, he was relatively unharmed. She hugged him to her and then asked, "What happened?"

Zero felt jealousy rise in his chest that she would check Kaname's wounds without even looking at his own. He had still hoped that the two of them might end up together after all they had been through. He figured that she had only had sex with Kaname because she was feeling vulnerable and needed affection but that she would realize that it had been a mistake to be in love with her brother and choose him. At the realization that he stood no chance of ever having her, a rage awoke in Zero and he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her against him just as Kaname was about to take her blood.

"Zero," Yuuki said with a laugh, "It's ok if Kaname feeds from me. I'm a vampire, remember?"

"I _know _that, which means that this could kill you," Zero said angrily, placing the Bloody Rose under her chin and forcing her head up a bit.

"Zero," she said slowly. "That's not funny. You're not supposed to point guns at things you don't intend to shoot." She felt him laugh against her, but there was no humor in the sound.

"What makes you think I don't want to kill you?" he asked cruelly. "You are a pureblood, the one thing I hate most in this world. What should make you special?"

"Kyruu," Kaname said in a deadly voice, "Release her." Kaname's order had the opposite reaction, instead of releasing Yuuki, Zero pushed the gun harder into her flesh.

"If you try to make me in any way," Zero said, "She dies." Kaname let out a growl of frustration as he realized that there was no way he could order Zero, he had made him too strong for that, and that he couldn't take the gun from him without risking shooting Yuuki in the process. He was just going to have to let this play out. Yuuki was her own best bet this time.

"Zero, stop this," Yuuki said firmly. "I don't know why you're doing this, but this is ridiculous. We both know you won't actually shoot me on purpose, so why don't you take the gun—"

Zero cut her off with a laugh. "Yuuki, there is absolutely no reason I won't kill you. I intend to make the worlds safe from you purebloods, you're all too powerful to be allowed to live."

"Damn it Zero," she said angrily, "That is as dumb as saying that we should destroy all Level D's just because they could someday become Level E's."

"Actually that doesn't sound like a bad idea at the moment," Kaname muttered.

"Either of you," Zero said, "Give me one good reason why I should let you both live?"

"Because neither of them have done anything," said the headmaster, walking into the clearing. "A hunter that kills without provocation is not long for this world Zero."

"No provocation?" Zero shouted. "He and I just had an all out fight in this clearing and she . . . well she. . ."

"Chose him over you," the headmaster suggested. "That's no reason to threaten her. If you love her let her go." Seeming defeated, Zero moved the gun from her chin, put it back in its holster, and stepped away from Yuuki, who, surprising everyone, turned toward him.

"Yuuki," he said, not looking at her, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." She clinched her jaw and approached him. Reaching into the holster, she took the gun from him and looked at it for a moment, and then she handed it to Kaien.

"Father will you hold this a moment?" she asked.

"Of course Yuuki," he said, thrilled that she called him "father" and not thinking about _why _she wanted him to hold Zero's gun.

Slowly she stalked towards Zero and he backed up trying to keep the same amount of distance between them. "So," she said slowly, "You think it's funny to threaten people because they won't do what you want?"

"No, Yuuki," he said slowly, "I'm sorry I have no idea what happened. I'm so sorry."

"This time sorry is not enough Zero," she said finally backing him into a tree. "How much do you know about purebloods? Other than that we can create and command other vampires?"

When it was apparent that she expected an answer he said, "Not much, why?"

"Because, we are the top of the vampires," she said. "The anger you feel as a vampire, the feeling of a caged monster, the hunger for blood, all of those are stronger in us than in other vampires. But so is our control. You cracked that control when you threatened me and the man I love."

"Yuuki," Zero began.

"No Zero," she said. "Not this time. I let you feed from me when I was human, even though even then something said that it was wrong that I should allow you to do it. My soul wants to destroy you for that but I have resisted because of our good times together."

"Yuuki," said the headmaster coming out of his high of her words to him and realizing what she is asying for the first time. "You don't want to kill him."

"Yes, father, "she replied coldly "a part of me does. And I would be well within my rights to do so, right?" he looked away knowing that she was right and could kill Zero if that was what she really wanted to do and there was nothing he could do about it.

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**Sorry y'all another cliffhanger. I will update when I can but finals are next week and I may no t have much time. Thank you for reading. **

**Stickdonkeys**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here we are y'all a chapter written in procrastination of studying for final exams. I couldn't concentrate with this in my head anyway. I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this story other than my own enjoyment.**

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Kaien kept his head turned to the side and his eyes closed. He had seen many things in his long bloody life, but seeing his children, and yes that was how he saw them, fighting like this was too much for him. Especially seeing Yuuki, his sweet daughter, taunting Zero like that. He had never thought that reawakening as a vampire would make her cruel. She had such a sweet personality and he had hoped that she would still have it now. _I'm sorry Juuri, _he thought, _I failed you. You wanted her to escape the cruelty of the vampire world and I didn't accomplish that._

He had no idea what he should do. He couldn't stop her, as a pureblood she had the right to kill any vampire that threatened her, but he couldn't let her kill Zero. The two of them were literally siblings, not by blood but by the fact that from a young age they had been raised in the same house and had many of the same experiences.

"So, Zero," Yuuki said coldly. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill _you_? You asked me to in the past and even gave me the weapon to do it. Tell me why I shouldn't do it now."

Zero closed his eyes. He knew that he had messed up and that she had the right to kill him. Hell he had asked her to do it before. And without her and his twin he almost **wished **she would do it. It would be easier for him if he was dead, then he would not have to live with the guilt and pain. "I don't have one," Zero said. "There is no reason you shouldn't kill me."

Kaien's heart fell at those words from Zero. His voice was so defeated and his posture was similar to the way it had been on the roof of the moon dorm. The events of that day had destroyed both of his children. Truth be told that was probably where Yuuki's cruelty had come from. She had been broken and so had Zero.

His answer also upset Yuuki. She had been expecting at least a little fight, not this defeat. She knew that Rido had hurt both of them, which was why she was doing what she was doing. Zero needed to wake back up and realize that his life had meaning (like the meaning she had found in Kaname) and if she had to hurt him to do it, so be it. "Fine, then if you don't want to live I will kill you," she said in that same tone, grabbing his face to turn it towards her.

She still didn't realize the extent of her new strength because the force she put on his jaw nearly fractured it. He closed his eyes against the pain waiting for her to rip out his throat or whatever she had planned hoping that at least it would be over quickly, though he knew that he deserved a slow painful death for what he had done. _I will see you again soon Ichiru, _he thought. _Even though I didn't do it, your mission is complete so I can die in peace and see you and mom and dad again._

Seeing that he was resigned to his fate, she got agitated and released her hold on his jaw to slap him. "Zero," she said, "Open your eyes." His amethyst eyes opened and stared into her garnet ones. He wondered as he looked into them how he had never realized that she and Kaname were related.

Her eyes narrowed at the lack of interest in his. "Before I kill you, I want to give you a chance to clean your soul. Give me a list of reasons why I _should _kill you."

Kaname couldn't figure out what she was doing for the life of him. Yuuki was acting so strange that even he had no idea what to expect from her next. Her encounter with Rido must have affected her more deeply than he had realized because there was nothing normal about her behavior. She was usually so happy and light and here she was, toying with Zero. Her attitude worried him. She was behaving like a pureblood. She should never have learned to behave like this having been raised as a human. _Maybe that Level D is right and there is something in the genetics of the purebloods that makes them cruel. There may be more to it than just the vampire world environment, _Kaname thought. _I thought she would be different. I hate seeing her this way. I should have done more to protect her._

"Come on Zero," Yuuki said, slamming him into the tree behind him. "Tell me _why _ I should kill you now."

"I failed," Zero said quietly looking away from her again.

"What do you mean you failed," She asked cruelly. "Failed as what, a vampire hunter, a vampire, a man? How did you fail?"

"I failed as all of it!" Zero yelled at her. "I failed as a brother when I ate Ichiru, even though he provoked me, I should have been stronger and resisted. I even failed him after that. Even with his blood it wasn't enough! Even your and _his _blood was not enough." Zero started crying as he continued. "I failed as a man and a brother and a vampire when I was unable to protect you from Rido or to kill him for you and Ichiru. All I can do is take from others! I'm a selfish monster and I don't deserve life. I just take and take from those I love. And they let me do it! All those times I took your blood and you never tried to stop me after that first time!"

He paused for a breath and looked into her eyes, "I don't deserve to live for all the pain I have caused for no good outcome for anyone. It would be better for everyone if I was not here and had never been born."

"If you really believe that," she said slowly, "I will do what you want and end your life."

Without a second thought he replied, "I mean it." She nodded mutely and grabbed his hair and pulled his head to the side exposing his neck. Then she bared her fangs and sank them into his neck. Zero let out a soft cry of pain at the brutality of her attack and Kaien had to stop himself from telling her to stop at the sound. Zero wanted to die, and she had the right to kill him. There was nothing he could do.

As much as he hated to do it, Kaname knew that he had to stop her. She was doing what he had wanted to do in eliminating Kyruu, but he knew that it would bother her when the blood lust subsided. Killing people that she didn't know had deeply troubled her, this would be worse and might even destroy her. "Yuuki," he said standing painfully and going towards her. When he reached her he put a hand gently on her shoulder and said, "You need to stop this now." She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes and there was something there that he didn't understand but she did pull her mouth away for a second.

She smiled sadly and said, "No Kaname, I _need _ to do this. Trust me." Then she turned back to Zero and bit down once again onto his neck. _Come on Zero,_ she thought desperately, _fight me. Show me that you want to live. Please!_ Still she drank, as she did she felt all the love he had for her. She had been wrong when she had told Rido that Zero didn't love her like that because it was here, in his blood. She now understood what he had meant about her blood betraying her feelings for Kaname. She felt herself begin to cry as she realized that she could never return his feelings and wondered for a second if it wouldn't be more humane to kill him than to let him live with the guilt of killing his twin and seeing the woman he loved in the position she had been earlier today.

Zero had never experienced anything like the feeling of Yuuki's fangs in his neck. They had the same burning quality that Shizuka's had had and something in him rebelled against the feeling of them in his neck but the rest of him accepted it as adequate punishment for failure. She wasn't being gentle, but he didn't care, he enjoyed the pain. _I wonder if this is what it felt like every time I drank from her,_ he thought. _I wonder if it hurts to die like this. I wonder if I hurt Ichiru. I guess I'll know soon. _As more and more blood was drained from his body he began to feel weak and began leaning on her for support before his knees gave out fully and he collapsed to the ground. She followed him and knelt on the ground beside him without ever breaking her hold on his neck. Just before he lost consciousness he felt the desire to live rise in him and he weakly pushed against her trying to stop her from finishing him off, then there was nothing, only the sweet darkness of oblivion.

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**So what do you think? Did she kill him or not? Review and see what happens. Also I would like to thank my loyal reviewers, Cosmic-lover and RimaLovesShiki, y'all rock! Thank you for reading this chapter!**

**~Stickdonkeys**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry y'all, I will be honest, this time I was just being lazy. I have had plenty of time to wirte this out, but after finals last week, I just didn't want to even think let alone type. I hope this was worth the wait!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no claim to. **

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Yuuki slowly withdrew her fangs from Zero's neck and leaned him gently against the tree behind him. She looked up at Kaname, her garnet eyes wide and said, "I had to do it oni-sama. I just . . . had to. It was like something else was driving me to do it. I'm sorry."

At her words, Kaien felt himself go cold. She had done it, she had killed Zero. He had not thought she was capable of that, even with everything she had been throught. He had hoped that she was just toying with him and would be unable to go through with it in the end. He was unsure of how to behave, should he go confront or comfort his daughter. Unsure of what to do, he just stood there in silence, a single tear escaping from his eye.

Gently Yuuki reached over and ran a finger up the trail of blood that had leaked from the wounds in Zero's neck. She stared at the crimson liquid on her finger and looked up at Kaname again with tears in her eyes. "Do you know what his blood said to me?" she asked him quietly.

Kaname looked down at his sister in pity. He had been worried that this was what was going to happen if he let her do as she wanted, but he hadn't had the strength to deny her what she wanted even though he knew it would hurt her. "No, Yuuki," he said kneeling down beside her, "I don't know what his blood showed you. What was it?"

Her face crumpled and she looked away from Kaname before she answered, looking instead at Zero's peaceful face. "He loved me," she whispered. "He actually loved me, and not like I thought he did. His love was romantic not just friendly." She went back to looking at the drop of blood on her finger. "Why," she said. "Why did he never tell me himself? Why did I have to wait for his blood to tell me what he should have?"

Kaname sat in silence. The fact that Kyruu had loved Yuuki was not news to him. It had been there in the way that he had looked at her and protected her. He didn't have the heart to tell her that the reason Zero had never told her was because he loved her and believed that he was not good enough for her. Instead of giving her the answers she sought, Kaname asked a question of his own. "Would it have changed things between us if he had told you?" He tried to make it sound as though the answer didn't matter to him but nothing could be farther from the truth. He _needed _to know that she would have chosen him if he hadn't been the first to ask her.

"No," Yuuki replied instantly. "I have always loved you, even when I knew that there was no chance we could be together because I wasn't good enough for you. I never would have told you, but when you asked it made me happy. Though I do regret how things turned out between me and Zero."

_And you don't realize that Zero felt the exact same way,_ Kaname thought with a mental smile. _You really are a naive and precious thing still._ "I'm sorry that what I did caused you pain, though I do not regret that I reawaked you as a vampire," Kaname said stiffly wondering if she might blame him for Zero's death at a later date since she had only been able to kill him because of Kaname.

"What are you talking about, Kaname?" she asked in confusion. "Why would you regret reawakening me?" Kaien who knew where Kaname's thoughts had gone was again surprised by her new callousness. She was sitting beside the corpse of her childhood friend and discussing love and not understanding that Kaname was sad for allowing her to be able to create said corpse.

"I thought you might regret it since it allowed you to kill Zero," he said slowly hating that he had to spell it out for her and maybe make her realize it more quickly. Though that would at least let them get this fight out of the way quickly rather than letting it fester between them.

She looked at him in surprise and laughed. "That's what you think I did? Both of you?" she asked looking between her father and her lover. Then she started laughing again this time it was near hysterical. "You think I am capable of _that_? Come here," she said gesturing at Kaien.

He began to approach her warily, then realized how silly it was to be afraid of his sweet Yuuki and walked briskly to her side. "Look," she said simply, turning Zero's head to the side gently. Kaien leaned over her head to see what she was pointing at. Kaname too leaned in a little closer despite himself. In the side of his neck, if one watched carefully, one could see the faint pulse as blood rushed through the vein beneath the skin.

Kaname shook his head at himself and wondered why he had not realized that Kyruu's heart was beating and began to listen more closely and realized that it was because during her feeding, Yuuki's heart had timed itself to Kyruu's and was just now beginning to separate again with her excitement at their misunderstanding. Also Kaname hadn't cared enough about Zero to attempt to find out if he was truly dead, he just took it on faith that he was. He had assumed with the scent of blood in the air and the threat on her life that Yuuki had lost control and was going to kill him, he hadn't realized that she could be so . . . calculating.

"If your intention wasn't to kill him," Kaname asked, "then what were you trying to do, Yuuki?"

"I was trying to give him a reason to live," she explained simply, reaching out to stroke his silver hair from his forehead. Kaname felt a surge of jealousy go through him at her actions. "He thought he wanted to die and I needed to prove him wrong," she finished.

"So," Kaien said slowly. "You tried to make him see he wanted to live by attempting to kill him? That seems a little backwards."

Kaname was upset that the headmaster would accuse his daughter of attempted murder and was unsure how to respond when Yuuki laughed, such a carefree sound. "Can you think of a better way?" she asked. "He wanted to die, so I gave him what he thought wanted and waited for him to resist death and then stopped."

"That was actually very clever," Kaname said looking at her in surprise.

"I'm not stupid, you know," Yuuki said in a mock pout. Her indignation thrilled Kaname, she had never behaved that way towards him: like a equal. She had always just ducked her head and said "Thank you Kaname-senpai," in the past. He liked this new Yuuki though he hated what had brought it about.

It also made Kaien feel better to see that Yuuki was developing as a person and had stopped her reverence for Kaname. She was treating him ore like she always had Zero now. There was a certain intimacy between them that had never been there before and he wondered what had caused it. _Maybe something good has come out of this mess with Rido,_ Kaien thought with a smile. _Also maybe I was wrong about Yuuki, she seems to be almost like she always was. Maybe I didn't fail you after all Juuri-san._

"So what should be do next," Yuuki asked suddenly breaking both men out of their musings.

"What do you mean, Yuuki?" Kaname asked.

"Well I meant, should we stay here and wait for Zero to wake up, or go back to the house and put him in bed and wait for him to wake up there?" She asked innocently. "I know that he is going to want blood wherever we put him because I think I took a lot. Does that mean that I have to be the one to give it back?"

"Of course not," Kaname said gruffly. "There is no reason for _you_ to give _him _blood; you have already done quite enough of that."

"But Kaname," she complained. "If I don't, who will? You?"

Kaname grimaced at the idea of that vile Level D's fangs in either of them, but there didn't seem to be another option at the moment since they couldn't ask any of the nobles to do it. "Fine," Kaname said. " I will give him the blood he will need since I don't want him to bite you again, but you will need to repay me in kind." Yuuki blushed as she heard the hidden meaning in Kaname's words and realized that she would have a long night ahead of her.

"Neither of you has to do it," the Chairman broke in suddenly breaking the tension of the situation. "I would be more than willing to give my blood for either of my beloved children," he said pulling the collar of his jacket away from his neck. "Even you, my darling Yuuki. Though it might kill me to do so!" He pulled her into a tight embrace that would have cut off her oxygen if she hadn't had the strength to push him away from her.

"Thank you father," she said stiffly, "but I don't believe that will need to happen."

"So mean!" he said "I think you got some of Zero's personality when you drank his blood."

Kaname fought back a smile at the chairman and Yuuki's interaction and said, "Perhaps we should move back to the house, it may be a while before Zero wakes, and I do not relish the idea of waiting in the forest. We will settle the issue of who will give him blood at the time it becomes necessary."

"OK," Yuuki said enthusiastically.

The chairman realizing that this might be his only chance to be close to his son, knelt and lifted the young man to carry him back to the house.

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Despite what they had thought about not wanting to get involved in another Kuran quarrel, the smell of blood in the air made them apprehensive and they had to fight the urge to go and see what was going on. Still they sat in the living room of the headmaster's house, some more patiently than others. Kain and Ruka were playing a card game feigning indifference while Aidou had his face pressed against the glass, looking in the direction that Yuuki and the headmaster had gone.

Every so often he would heave a dramatic sigh at how long this was taking. Eventually Ruka had enough of it and snapped, "Hanabusa, if it is bothering you so much, why don't you just go after them."

Aidou turned to her and said slowly, "I don't want to. And you can't make me."

"I swear if you don't quit with that sighing, I will try," She snapped, turning to face him with her fists balled up beside her. Kain sighed in response to her reaction. "Don't you start it," she said to him over her shoulder. Kain raised his hands in defeat, he wasn't going to argue with Ruka.

"Who do you think you are?" Aidou asked her. "Ordering people around like a pureblood."

At that Ruka puffed up and yelled, "How dare you compare me to them!"

Kain stood and took his cousin's place at the window to watch for the return of Kaname and the others leaving the two of them to fight this out on their own. Odds are that they wouldn't actually draw blood. And if they did . . . it wouldn't matter. He was slightly worried when he saw the headmaster walk out of the woods carrying a figure, but as soon as Kaname and Yuuki broke the cover of the trees behind him, he was relieved.

"Guys," he said quietly. "They're back." The two arguing nobles chose to ignore him and continue their bickering (though it was highly possible that they didn't hear him over themselves). Sighing again Kain left to go and greet his leaders.

Noticing him walk out of the room, Ruka turned her head and said, "We will continue this later Hanabusa," before following Kain from the room.

"But we're not finished yet!" Aidou yelled at her before looking out the window and seeing what had distracted his cousin and Ruka from their argument and following them both hollering, "Hey! Wait for me!"

Once they got outside, the group was almost to the front door and Kain almost hit the headmaster with the door on the way out. The headmaster took it well and thanked Kain for opening the door for him and went inside to put Zero in his bed.

"Is he. . ." Ruka asked a little disgusted at the idea of sharing a house with a corpse.

"Dead," Kaname finished. "No" anyone who knew him could almost hear the "regretabally" at the end of that sentence. Except for our dear Yuuki of course.

"What happened?" Kain asked quietly.

"It's a long story," Yuuki replied leaning against Kaname's shoulder tiredly a small smile on her face. "Can I tell you tomorrow?" she asked.

"But—" Aidou began before a look from Kaname silenced him. "Of course we will wait until you are ready to tell us, Yuuki-sama," he finished more politely.

"Yuuki . . . sama?" She asked. "Since when do you call me 'sama?' It's weird, just go back to calling me 'hey you' or something, ok?" Kaname shook his head at Aidou who blushed under the pressure of conflicting orders from two purebloods.

"I apologize Yuuki-sama, but I am unable to do that as Kaname-sama scares me a little more than you do," he said hoping that his joke would be well taken.

Yuuki smiled warmly at her brother and Aidou before she said, "I'm not sure that's wise. I did kill another pureblood today, as well as defeating Zero. I'm may be more dangerous than you think." What was scariest about that was her sweet smile as she said that. "Come on Kaname, let's go to bed."

The nobles were staring at her in shock and Kaname gave a small laugh and a ghost of a smile as he thought, _Dear Yuuki, you have no idea how your 'dangerous' actions pale in comparison to what I have done in the past twenty-four hours._ Instead of saying this, he shrugged a little and walked towards her. The shrug caused the wound in his shoulder to bleed again filling the air with the scent of his blood.

"Kaname-sama, are you bleeding?" Ruka asked concerned.

"It's nothing, it will heal soon enough, right Yuuki?" he said lifting an eyebrow at his sister who giggled and blushed at his insinuation that she would have something to do with his healing. Ruka looked confused as the pureblood prince walked past her into the house, kissing Yuuki on the way by and grabbing her wrist to lead her to her room.

"Purebloods," Kain whispered in an undertone to Aidou, "are very odd things, aren't they?" Aidou was worried about what would happen to him if either of the purebloods happened to hear his answer and remained silent to avoid getting in trouble later.

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**Here we are all, I thought this story needed a little humor to lighten the tension. I may have failed at this goal, but I gave it a shot. So who is going to be the one to give Zero the blood he needs when he wakes? Yuuki, Kaname, Kaien, or someone else? What do you think? As always thank you for reading and/or reviewing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	11. Chapter 11

**Guess what! I have another chapter for you, sorry about the delay on this one. But this is a good long chapter to make up for that. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no claim to**

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No sooner had the door closed behind them than Yuuki felt herself pressed up against it by Kaname.

"Kaname wha—" she began before she was cut off by Kaname's lips on hers. As they continued to kiss he pulled back for a second and said in a breathless tone. "Never do that to me again."

She intended to ask him what he meant, but then he was kissing her again and speech was impossible. Needing to increase the contact between them, she reached up and grabbed his shoulders to pull him more tightly against her. Only to pull back in surprise as he flinched when she touched him. She looked at her fingers, surprised to see them covered in blood.

"Kaname, why are you still bleeding?" she asked.

"It will stop," he said simply.

"That's stupid," she snapped. "Let me look at it."

"Yuuki," he said "I'll be fine, there is no need for you to look at it."

She looked at him with her eyes hard. She didn't say anything but she didn't need to. It was quite evident from her expression that she would see his wound with or without his compliance. He sighed deeply and reached up to unbutton his shirt for her, moving a little gingerly from the wounds he had sustained in his battle with Kiryuu. He had to give it to that hunter. The boy was actually good. Yuuki quickly became impatient with his slow progress and brushed his hands aside to undress him herself.

"Yuuki, I can undress myself," Kaname said a little testily. _I have been alive for longer than I care to remember. _"I'm not a child."

"Maybe I want to do it," she said with a sly smile. "Besides, how many opportunities will we have for me to play nurse-maid to you? Unless of course you and I have a fight," she added with a suggestive raise of her eyebrow.

As comprehension dawned on Kaname, he was content to let her do as she pleased. "I had no idea you were bored with our lovemaking already Yuuki," he said in a mock-hurt tone. "That doesn't bode well for the rest of eternity."

She just smiled and blushed at what he had said. She was still not used to the idea of sex with any man, let alone her brother. "Who said that this was leading to _that_?" she asked innocently. "I just wanted to make sure that you were ok after your fight with Zero. What was it about anyway?" She gently tapped his unhurt shoulder, wordlessly asking him to sit so she could take off his shirt. He obliged her as he wondered if he should tell her that he and Zero had been fighting over her. A little frustrated with his silence, Yuuki was a little rougher than she could have been in taking off his shirt. She instantly felt bad though when he let out a small gasp of pain.

"I'm sorry," she whispered gently kissing his bare shoulder. "I should not have given into my frustration."

"Does it bother you so much to not know what caused us to fight?" Kaname asked, turning his head to survey her with his garnet eyes.

"Yes," she answered honestly. Then she looked away from his eyes to examine his injuries. His torso was littered with bruises that had yet to fade. And on his right shoulder was what was unmistakably a gunshot wound. "I never thought he would actually shoot you," she said tears filling her eyes as she gently touched the ragged edge of the wound. "At least he didn't actually kill you," she whispered hugging Kaname from behind. "I couldn't have lived with that. I don't know that I can forgive him for this."

Kaname chose not to tell her that if not for Seiren he would be dead now and that Kiryuu _had_ actually tried. He couldn't bear to bring her such pain. He also couldn't let her hate Zero for something that had been mutual combat either, as much as it pained him to defend that Level D. "Yuuki, he and I both said provocative and cruel things to one another. And as much as I hate to admit it, he was probably justified in shooting me."

She looked at him in shock, "What the hell were the two of you talking about that led to _that!" _she demanded.

Kaname shifted uncomfortably then said, "You."

"Me?" she demanded. "What would make either of you think that fighting over me would be a good thing?"

Kaname could tell that he might be in trouble with her if he didn't answer that question carefully and figured that the truth was probably the best thing. "Well, for me, I can't speak for him of course, I was defending you to some extent. He caught the two of us together," he said. _What is it about this girl. I could easily destroy her if she attacked me, but I don't want to anger her. This is not like me usually I would say what I wanted to in this situation and damn the consequences._

"unhuh," she replied her eyes narrowing. "So how do you figure he was justified in shooting you if all you did was defend me?" Kaname had no desire to tell her what he had said to Zero and decided it might be time for a change of topic.

"Yuuki," he said in a soothing voice, "Can we please do this later?"

"Why," she asked.

"Because I'm thirsty and wounded," he said gently.

It had the effect he had wanted because instantly her eyes widened and her face showed her regret. "I'm so sorry Kaname-oni-sama. I forgot that you would need blood. Is that why these wounds have not healed yet?"

"It's fine, dear one," he said pulling her against him with his good arm. "This is easily fixed." She came to him gladly and tipped her head to the side exposing her neck so he wouldn't have to do it with his wounded arm. He licked up the side of her neck gently and then whispered "I'm sorry" before he plunged his fangs into the soft skin of her neck. He felt a twinge of sorrow as he felt her body tense as his fangs broke this skin but it was soon lost in the pleasure of her blood. Though he was thirsty, he intended to take just enough to satisfy his basic needs and sate the thirst for now, even though she could have withstood him taking more as she had just gorged herself on Kiryuu's blood.

Yuuki felt the initial pain of the bite and felt her body flinch and herd her involuntary gasp of breath but soon the pain faded to an exquisite bliss like she had never experienced. Aidou had been right; the sound of Kaname drinking her blood thrilled her. It made her feel powerful that he needed her to help him satisfy his basic needs of survival, but she realized that she needed him for the same and that they were finally the equals she had always wished they could be. They were meant for each other. Too soon for her taste he quit feeding and she was worried that he had not taken enough to even heal himself, let alone feed himself. She was impressed to watch the wounds on his body heal, bruises fading before her eyes and the gunshot wound closing up.

"We really are fascinating creatures, aren't we?" she said, wonder shining in her eyes at what she was witnessing. He was pleased to see the fascination in her eyes but was not willing to get shot on a regular basis to see it more often.

He just smiled and reached up to put a hand gently on the side of her face to pull her into a passionate kiss. Surprisingly tasting her blood on his tongue excited Yuuki in ways that she still didn't fully understand. Letting that excitement and passion take control, she reached with one hand to grab a handful of his hair and let the other hand stroke him through his pants. He gasped into her mouth, he hadn't been expecting her to do that. Smiling against his lips, she lightly nipped him on the lip careful to use only her front teeth and not her fangs. He whispered her name, gently and reverently as though it were a prayer that would shatter and cease to be effective if it was said too loudly.

Though Kaname would never admit it to anyone, this slightly dominant and totally self-assured Yuuki made him horny. Though he had always loved her, she had always been so innocent and child-like. This Yuuki was a woman, and was a strong enough woman to reign beside him as queen when the time came for them to seize power. But there was another part of him that refused to give her complete dominance and this was the part that rolled her onto the bed rather than let her stay in a position of power in this game of foreplay. For no matter what she had said a little earlier, they both had known where this was headed when they entered this room. She breathlessly gasped his name in surprise at her sudden change in position, but took it rather well.

Her hands began to roam his upper body as his tongue and teeth explored hers. The feeling of his teeth on her skin was amazing, even the slight pain from where his fangs scraped her only served to fuel her desire for the man above her. When he gently bit her nipple through her nightgown she let out an involuntary moan and blushed as she saw the look on his face. The only word for it was smug. Yes, Kaname was looking at her smugly. _Well, _she thought, _two can play at that game. _ And then she surprised him again by flipping him over onto his back and taking control once more.

"Yuuki," he said in quiet protest at her action.

She just smile down at him from her position astride him and put one delicate finger to his lips. "Shhhh," she said. "It's my turn." She pinned his wrists with her hands and began to explore his upper body with her mouth.

Truth be told, Kaname could have just flipped her back over had he wanted to, and would when he decided it was time, but he was too intrigued by what she had planned to do so yet. Yuuki was not sure what would really cause him pleasure but she imitated all of the things that he had done that she had enjoyed and was surprised at the reactions she got from her dear brother. She laughed gently and leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "You make such interesting noises, oni-sama." She was surprised to see that the skin around his ear covered in goose bumps at the touch of her breath._ I wonder what happens when I do this,_ she thought as she gently and slowly ran her tongue up the skin below and behind his ear. In response Kaname clenched his hands and his neck elongated as he breathed her name.

"Is it my turn yet," Kaname asked in a slightly breathless tone. He had had no idea that she would prove to be so good at this so quickly. She had already figured out trick Kaname hadn't known. But despite his long life, he had to admit that he hadn't had _that_ much experience with sex. More that Yuuki, but he was sure that there were mortals out there who had more experience than he did.

"Who says you get one," she asked seriously, her eyes glinting with mirth and passion. Slightly dissatisfied with where she was as it limited what she was able to do, she slid off his chest onto the bed beside him. Slowly she trailed a hand down his chest to play with the button of his pants. She looked at him shyly and lifted an eyebrow in question. With her prodigious skills with her mouth he had forgotten that this was only her second time to actually have sex (he was choosing to try to forget what had happened earlier and didn't think that she would count it either). He nodded gently and watched her as she gently unsnapped the button/snap. Then he helped her to remove his pants and underwear and laid back down to let her do what she wanted.

She reached out slowly and touched him. She was surprised at the smoothness of his skin. The skin of his upperbody was smooth, but this was more of a silky quality. She gently ran a finger along his penis but stopped when she heard him let out a low hiss. "I'm sorry!" she said pulling her hand back. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me," he said in a quiet voice. "I enjoy your touch Yuuki. Please continue." At his invitation she stretched her hand out again and began stroking him with more fingers this time. Her feather light caresses did things to Kaname: ungodly things. He closed his eyes reveling in her touch and trying not to allow any of the noises rising up his throat to escape for fear of stopping her again.

Even though he was trying to suppress them, Yuuki could still hear the quiet noises coming from Kaname and by listening to them figured out quickly which of the ways she was touching him he liked the most and made sure that they were the ones she used most. Soon he shifted his hips a little on the bed and gripped the sheets in pleasure.

It was too much for Kaname. He didn't care if it was "her turn," he wasn't going to last much longer if he let her keep doing what she was doing. That girl had a talent for pleasure. "My turn," he said sitting up suddenly and rolling her beneath him again.

"Who says you get a—" Yuuki asked her last words cut off in a moan as Kaname reached between her legs and rubbed her. Kaname found that he really liked that noise and did it again to get her to make it again, which she did. Her hands came up to grip his shoulders and her breath was already coming in pants. He gave it a second and then stroked her again. She arched her back a little, eyes wide as she looked at him. The look on her face was so precious that he had no choice but to lean in and kiss her. She kissed him back with passion he had never expected.

"Please," she breathed in his ear. He needed no clarification as to what she meant and gently slid himself into her. They both let out appreciative moans and smiled at the other. Then they both began to move, both knowing that this wasn't going to last long this time. As a particularly strong wave of passion hit her, Yuuki's hands curled a little driving her nails into his shoulders and drawing blood. The smell of his blood in the air increased both of their passions and drove them over the edge of sanity. In their passion, they each bit the other not for food, but as a way of releasing the pent up forces within their body and giving into the animalistic urges they had. Unlike their first time, this was all power and passion and could almost have been described as violent, though neither intended to cause the other harm. Eventually they both reached climax, Yuuki sliglthy before Kaname and they collapsed together in a sweaty heap.

Kaname was looking at Yuuki's face, soft in the aftermath of lovemaking and saw when her eyes fluttered open. She extended one small hand and touched a smear of blood on the skin between his neck and shoulder. "I'm sorry I bit you," she said with a smile. This made Kaname laugh, a vampire apologizing for biting her mate. It was such a pleasant sound that Yuuki decided she needed to do what she could to hear more of it in the future. Her brother didn't laugh enough. He was too serious for his age.

"I love you Yuuki," Kaname said traces of his laughter still present in his voice.

"I love you too Kaname," Yuuki said gently kissing his lips as she had wished to do so many times.

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Zero awoke slowly, his entire body aching and the burning feeling of intense thirst in his throat. Without opening his eyes, he turned the sound of a heartbeat in the room and began approaching it silently. Then he grabbed a handful of hair and tipped the neck to the side and took what his body needed. The blood that flowed down his throat was rich and filling and despite his injuries and thirst, he was soon sated. Only then did he open his eyes to find himself staring straight into the eyes of his victim.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he yelled into the familiar face. Only to get a sardonic smile in response.

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**Here we are y'all another chapter out of the way. So what do you think about this one? Thank you to everyone who has read, or reviewed so far. You really do make my day! **

**Thank you for reading this chapter!**

**stickdonkeys**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry Y'all I had a bit of writer's block on this story. I finally broke it and wrote this chapter for you. I hope you enjoy it!**

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Zero looked into the cold silver eyes of the person he had just taken blood from. "I asked what you are doing here!" he yelled into her face.

"I think the words you were actually looking for were 'thank you,'" she said in a bored tone. "You did just take my blood with your filthy ex-human mouth."

"You saw me coming," Zero retorted in anger. "You could have stopped me if you had really wanted to. Aren't you supposed to some elite guard or something?"

Seiren smiled a little and said, "Yes, I could have stopped you."

"Then why didn't you if you're just going to complain about it now?" Zero snapped.

"I _let_ you have my blood because it was either that or allow you to feed from my master or his sister and that was _not_ going to happen," she said coldly. "There is no need for them to allow you to sink your unworthy fangs into their necks."

"_You_ still didn't have to be the one to do it if you were just going to hold it over me," he said irritably. "Besides what makes you think that I would have wanted to drink either of their disgusting blood."

"Perhaps the fact that you have taken blood from the Kuran Princess many times already," Seiren said. "Her blood wasn't 'disgusting' then, now was it?"

"How dare you!" he yelled at her.

"What," she snapped back, "You didn't take her blood?" He looked away ashamed and she laughed. "That's what I thought. You broke one of the biggest taboos in our world; you took the blood of a pureblood for your own sustenance without invitation."

"How do you know that it was without her permission?" he asked with a smirk. "We both thought she was human and she offered me her blood."

"Does Kaname-sama know about this?" Seiren asked angrily. Zero responded with a shrug he didn't really care either way. Suddenly there was a sound from the hallway and Seiren grabbed Zero by the throat and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Tell no one about this. Or else." As she turned to jump out the window, her short hair brushed the side of his face wafting the scent of her shampoo to him. He was surprised to notice that it was a floral scent: rose or maybe lavender. He could still feel the warmth of her hand on his neck when the door was opened and the headmaster rushed in.

"Oh Zero-kun!" he chirped, "You're awake! I was so worried that Yuuki had killed you. Have you gotten blood yet? If not, feel free to help yourself to mine!"

As the headmaster finished speaking he pulled his collar aside and rushed at Zero who simply stepped out of the way and hit the headmaster on his way by sending him to the floor. "What is your problem you crazy old man?" he asked. "Most people try to _avoid_ getting bit by vampires. Besides, I've already gotten it taken care of." With that he walked out the still open door.

"Oh Zero's so mean!" the chairman cried. Suddenly he heard a noise outside and stopped acting like a fool. He walked to the window and looked out into the rising dawn. He knew that he had heard something outside, but he could not see what had caused it. He wondered if it had anything to do with what Kaname had done earlier. He was worried that Kaname's thirst for vengeance (not that he hadn't shared the sentiment) had caused more trouble than it had fixed. He was sure of one thing, though; odds were that the attack, if it happened at all, would not come until later that evening.

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Seiren stood outside, allowing the cool air to wash over her flushed face. What had prompted her to give blood to that ex-human. She had had no intention of doing so when she had gone up to that room, on second thought she had no idea why she had gone up to that room in the first place.

Part of the reason had been what she had told him; she didn't want him to take blood from either of the purebloods but there was more to it. Something about him had just drawn her there. _I have to quit thinking like this_ she chastised herself. _My parents will kill me. To think, a noble vampire falling for a level D._ She shook her head to clear the troublesome thoughts.

She heard a noise off to her right and went in that direction with her ninja-like speed. She was almost at the gate to the school and was prepared to go back to her bed and sleep before the coming dawn, when she saw a large group of noble vampires. As was her custom, she stood in the shadows and listened to what they were saying.

"Why are we here," one of the men asked. "It's almost dawn."

"We have to talk to Kaname-sama," said one of the women, "The entire vampire council destroyed. I don't know who could have done it or why but we will need a leader to unite us and the Kurans are the only ones with the power to do it. And Kaname-sama is the last of the Kurans."

"Besides," Aidou's father said, "This may have been an act of war from the Hunter's association, who else could destroy all of them? He needs to know what has happened so that he can be prepared for a potential attack on his life."

_The council has been destroyed?_ Seiren thought in surprise. _Does Kaname-sama know about this? I wonder if that is where he went earlier today. Could he have . . . no. He never could kill that many people, even in vengeance. I need to tell him that there are people coming to see him._

Leaving the nobles to find their own way to her master, she ran off again in the direction of the headmaster's home and the room where her master was with his sister. He was not going to like being disturbed at this time, but she didn't see that there was another choice. Once she reached the house, she jumped into the window where her master's scent was coming from.

She knelt on the floor as she always did before quietly saying his name to alert him to her presence.

Kaname heard his name and rolled to look in the direction of the voice. He saw Seiren in the middle of the floor awaiting his attention. Thought it was a bad time and he really needed to rest, he tried to be civil with her. "What is it Seiren?"

"Master, there is a large group of noble vampires at the gate of the school looking for you to inform you of the death of the entire vampire council," she said quietly.

"What!"he said a little sharper than he intended. He felt Yuuki stir beside him at the level of noise he had just created.

"Kaname," she mumbled sleepily, sitting up on her elbow to look at him. "What's going on?" Seiren felt a blush creep into her cheeks at the thought of the two of them sharing a bed. She wondered how far they had actually taken it and wondered what it would be like to share a bed with that Level D. _What am I thinking? _Her blush deepened at that thought.

Noticing her blush, Kaname took pity on her and said, "Thank you for the information, Seiren. You may go now." She bowed again and jumped back out of the window glad to be out of that situation.

"What's going on?" Yuuki repeated.

"Yuuki," Kaname said slowly, "There are more vampires coming to the school. They are coming to see me because of something that happened earlier this evening. I was . . . slightly . . . irate when I found out what had happened to you. As a result I may have acted a little rashly."

"So they are coming to see you because of what you did because of me?" she asked. "Are you in trouble?"

"No, I'm not in trouble," he said with a smile Yuuki didn't like. "They couldn't do anything to me."

"Then why do you seem nervous?" she asked confused.

"It' s because I wasn't intending to tell them about you yet, and I see no way to avoid it. Especially if I am going to explain my actions today," he said sadly.

"Why would you need to explain your actions?" she questioned.

"Because in my anger I destroyed the entire vampire council and the building," Kaname said with a straight face. Yuuki couldn't reply. The thought of her brother, who had always been so gently with her, killing so many people was hard for her to wrap her head around. She just sat there, looking at his face, her eyes wide with shock. It worried him. "Yuuki, please say something," he begged.

"Did they all need to die," She finally asked.

"Maybe not all," he admitted slowly. "but at the time, a clean purge seemed like the best plan. And I still stand by my decision. I hope it doesn't make you hate me."

"I don't think I hate you," she said gently, "But I wish you could have found a better way to solve it. Between the two of us we have caused too much death today." He gently pulled her to him, unwilling to say that it was in their nature to destroy things that threatened things they loved. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and the chairman's voice called, "Kaname-kun, there are some noble vampires here to see you."

Kaname smiled at Yuuki before he called, "Ok, we will be down in a bit, can you entertain them until then?"

"Of course!" the Chairman chirped. "I have all kinds of yummy things to feed them!"

"Well," Kaname said, "it is time for your grand appearance. Are you ready?"

Yuuki smiled and nodded, "Let's do this!" Kaname wished he could say that he shared her enthusiasm, but he was too apprehensive about the upcoming meeting.

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**Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I will try to post more quickly next time!**

**Stickdonkeys**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey all! **

**I know it's been a little while since my last update and I do apologize. I hope you enjoy this chapter that I wrote for you when I was **_**supposed**_** to be memorizing amino acid structures for my Biochemistry class. Oh well, this was more fun and I couldn't concentrate on the structures anyway. So enough rambling from me. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no claim to!**

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Kain sighed again, even though they were still outside and the dawn was approaching because his cousin was _still_ arguing with Ruka. All he wanted to do was get inside and get to sleep; apparently all they wanted to do was bicker. They were beginning to give him a headache.

"I swear," Aidou yelled in Ruka's face, "You must be the stupidest person on the entire planet to believe something like that!" Rather than retaliate, Ruka smirked in triumph. _What is wrong with this girl,_ he asked himself. _I just insulted her and she didn't say anything!_

"HANABUSA!" roared a voice that sounded suspiciously like his father's. He turned around slowly hoping that he was mistaken about who the voice belonged to, only to see his father standing there dumbfounded. "HOW DARE YOU SPEEK TO A LADY LIKE THAT! I KNOW I TAUGHT YOU BETTER!"

"Father," the younger Aidou said trying to dodge blows from his father while Ruka shook silently with laughter, "I hardly think she counts as a lady."

As Ruka heard this she lunged at him to attack him for insulting her status as a lady, only to be restrained by her own father.

"I'm inclined to agree with your son at the moment Aidou-san. She was not behaving like a young lady of breeding," he said leveling a glare at his daughter who hung her head in shame at being caught in her behavior.

"Welcome to Cross Academy!" the headmaster called throwing the door open to his home. "May I ask what brings such distinguished visitors to us at this hour?"

"Hello Headmaster," Aidou senior said warmly, "we are looking for Kaname-sama. Do you know where we can find him?"

"Of course!" Kaien chirped, "He's inside. If you would come in, I will go and get him for you."

"That would be much appreciated," Ruka's father said with a smile.

The entire group entered the headmaster's house and went into the sitting room where Aidou and Ruka had been arguing not an hour before. All of the younger nobles (as well as the headmaster) wondering what had brought such a large contingent of nobles to Cross Academy at such a late hour for them. They had said that they were there to see Kaname, but what was so urgent that it couldn't wait until a more reasonable hour.

_Well,_ Hanabusa thought_, if they are willing to risk the anger of getting a pureblood out of bed at dawn, it must be important._ Despite his curiosity, he like the other young nobles hoped that if they we silent their parents would not send them away from the discussion.

Soon the headmaster returned offering all manner of snacks and refreshments (except for the refreshment that most present would most like). After about ten minutes of waiting the nobles were beginning to get impatient. Just because a pureblood is allowed to make someone wait didn't mean that he _should_. Though they knew that no matter how impatient they got, they would wait for him because they had no other choice.

Eventually Kaname did appear, looking a little disheveled. His face was a mask but it was apparent from his hair and clothes that they had gotten him out of bed. Their frustration with the time it took him to get there disappearing in gratitude that he was willing to forego rest to speak with them.

"I'm sorry I made you wait," Kaname said quietly. He was soon flooded with "It was no trouble" and "it was our pleasure to wait."

Not wanting to reveal how extensive his spy network is he asked, "What brings you here at this hour?" The nobles shifted uncomfortably. Then one of them nudged Aidou senior suggestively. _So it happens to Dad too, _Hanabusa thought with a silent laugh.

"Well, Kaname-sama," he began slowly. "We hate to be the ones to tell you . . . but . . . the entire vampire council has been destroyed and the building it was housed in as well. We are unsure who did it and we are worried that whoever it was may pose a threat to you and the rest of the vampire world."

"Your fears are unfounded," Kaname said suddenly. "There is no threat to me or anyone else."

Aidou and the nobles looked confused for a moment the Ruka's father found his voice and asked, "I apologize for my rudeness, but how do you know that Kaname-sama?"

Kaname gave him a predatory smile and said slowly, "Because I am the one who destroyed the vampire council." His announcement was met with quiet muttering among the nobles and shocked expressions directed at him.

Finally one of the noble women present found the courage to ask the question that so many of them wanted the answer to, "Kaname-sama, Why?" As the words left her mouth she felt all the blood leave her face. She had just questioned a pureblood, and one that was capable of mass murder at that. He was not angry however and smiled at her almost warmly.

"Let me show you," he said quietly walking back towards the door he had just come in and putting his hand into the hallway. Everyone present was wondering about his sanity (everyone knew that he had had an uncle who was insane) when a small hand placed itself in his and allowed him to pull the body attached to it into the room. Though most of the people present had no idea who the young woman was many were struck by her resemblance to the young pureblood, though her smile as she surveyed the gathered nobles was much warmer.

"Allow me to introduce you to my sister and fiancée, Yuuki Kuran," he said pride evident in his voice and a warmth present in his eyes when he looked at her that they had never seen before.

"But Kaname-sama," Aidou senior began bravely. "Your parents only had ONE child before they died. We would have known if there was another Kuran born."

"I assure you," Kaname said coldly. "Yuuki is my sister. Our parents made sure that no one knew about her because they wanted her to grow up as normally as is possible for a pureblood vampire. Besides, look closely at her for yourselves, it is apparent that she is a pureblood is it not?"

Tired of being discussed and scrutinized as though she were a painting rather than a person Yuuki spoke a bit more sharply than she intended. "I can understand why you would be . . . apprehensive of someone claiming to be from the Kuran line when there is no previous mention of them, but I promise you that I am the daughter of Juuri and Haruka Kuran and the sister of Kaname."

At the sound of her voice many of the nobles stiffened, fearful that they may have provoked the wrath of someone who was assuredly a pureblood if not definitely a Kuran. "We apologize for our skepticism Yuuki-sama," began Ruka's father with a bow to the young woman.

"No I apologize," she cut him off gently with a smile. "My tone was harsher than I intended because it has been a long day and I am exhausted. Please accept my sincerest apologies. In your positions I would be skeptical as well." Her apology dumbfounded the elder noble vampires while the younger nobles who knew her just shook their heads indulgently. Too quickly for her taste they recovered and she received a flood of apologies for everything from waking her, to doubting her, to not realizing that she had had a bad day. It was more than enough to give her a headache. She wondered if they were always that spineless.

Kaname noticed Yuuki move beside him and looked down to see her pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "You have done your part," he whispered in her ear. "You can go back to bed now if you would like."

Though the idea of her bed greatly tempted Yuuki, she shook her head. She knew that she needed to see what was going to happen next. She also wondered how much of the story Kaname was going to tell the nobles.

"I'm sure many of you are wondering what my sister has to do with my destruction of the council," Kaname said, his soft voice cutting through all the chatter and being heard by all. "The explanation is quite simple. The council was harboring my uncle, Rido Kuran and unleashed him upon us, and indirectly your children." He paused while the muttered among themselves, then continued, "My sister destroyed Rido but not before he caused some harm to her. All of this occurred while I was in discussion with Ichio in the senate house about his alliance with Rido."

Yuuki felt tears fill her eyes and her heart rate accelerate at the memory of what Rido had done and was thankful that Kaname had not elaborated. She wasn't sure that she could handle hearing it in such a matter-of-fact tone. She was also glad because she couldn't have stood the pitying glances from people who didn't know her.

Sensing her discomfort, Kaname gently pulled her to his side, sadness filling him as she momentarily struggled against his touch. Squashing his sadness, he continued speaking, "When I learned of what he had done to my sister, my rage got the better of me and I destroyed them all in retribution."

"The senate actively conspired to harm pureblood vampires," one of the nobles asked in a breathless voice. "So they were as corrupt and power hungry as we feared." Kaname breathed a silent sigh of relief at the fact that they were going to focus on that aspect, thankful for once for the reverence most vampires had for the purebloods.

"Kaname-sama," Aidou began again choosing his words carefully so as not to anger the young man, "I know this did not probably cross your mind, understandably, when you eliminated the senate, but we will need a governing body now. We have two options; we can reinstate the Kuran monarchy, or we can form a new senate. Either option you choose is acceptable for us but, though I hate to say this, you need to make the choice quickly."

Kaname ran a hand through his hair and sighed audibly. He had been intending to reclaim the throne, but he hadn't meant to do it this quickly. _Well, why not?_ A voice inside him asked. _Why is now not a good time?_ He had no answer except that he had been hoping to spend some time with Yuuki before they were obligated to responsibility rather than just to each other. "As my sister said, today has been a long and trying day. I would like to rest and think about the options as well as discuss them with my sister. I will get back to you with an answer tomorrow evening. If you would like, I'm sure the headmaster has a few guest bedrooms that he would be willing to allow you access to for the day."

"Of course, Kaname-sama," the nobles said as one and bowed as the potential future King and Queen left the room for the day.

Seiren had been standing outside the door listening to everything that had been said and found herself stunned that her master had really killed all of those people. She bowed automatically as he walked past her holding Yuuki gently by the arm to guide her.

"Seiren," Kaname said suddenly stopping to look at her.

"Yes Kaname-sama?" she asked.

"If anyone even thinks of coming into our room until nightfall, kill them," he said with absolute seriousness.

"Yes, Master," she said the idea of killing one or two people not bothering her at all.

"Kaname!" Yuuki squeaked. "You can't kill people just for interrupting your sleep!"

Kaname sighed in a put-out way and just barely refrained from telling her that he was a pureblood and as such could do whatever the hell he wanted to any other vampire. Instead he amended his order to, "Fine, don't kill them. Just maim them and tell them to come back at nightfall."

It wasn't what Yuuki wanted to hear, but it was better than his first order, though as far as Yuuki was concerned the second part alone would have sufficed. She knew that this was one argument that she wasn't going to win so she conceded that battle and followed Kaname to their room where she laid down on her bed fully clothed and fell asleep instantly.

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**Well, what do you think? Is Kaname going to establish himself as king or is he going to set up a new council? Will Seiren get to maim anyone? Was it worth the wait? **

**As always thank you for reading my newest chapter and I will try to have a new one up for you next week *crosses fingers.* please leave a review if you feel so inclined.**

**Thank you,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here we go ya'll I promised that I would get you an update within a week and I did! It's a little shorter than usual but you will get another chapter by Friday at 3 (central time US). I have decided that I will get an update at least once a week.**

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Silence followed the departure of the purebloods and lasted until all present we sure that they would be out of earshot, only then did the conversation resume.

"Are we sure that letting Kaname-sama take the throne is a good idea?" Ruka's father asked. "I mean, he is the one responsible for the annihilation of the senate. This almost seems like we are rewarding him for rash behavior. Is that smart?"

"Well we don't really have a choice now, do we? Since _someone_ told him it was an option," one of the women said cruelly looking at Aidou's father.

"I just said what we had decided we were going to say," Aidou senior said indignantly. "You can't blaime me for doing what we had all agreed on doing."

"Yes but we were unaware that Kaname-sama was unstable when we decided to offer him the throne," said another noble.

That was too much for Hanabusa who decided that the time had come for him to speak up. "Kaname-sama is _not_ unstable!" he interjected. "You have no right to judge him when you have no idea what went on today because of the senate. I would have killed them too if I had been in his position."

The older nobles stood there looking at him in response to his sudden outburst. "Hanabusa," his father said slowly, "what do you know about what happened today?"

"I was there for all of it," Hanabusa said sadly. "And I refuse to relive it again for all of you. Just trust me when I say he was justified in his actions. But I don't believe we will see a repeat of his behavior."

"What makes you so sure," Ruka's father snapped.

"Yuuki-sama," Hanabusa said with certainty. "She will be a taming force if he ever considers anything rash."

"What is her story anyway?" one of the women asked. "Is she actually a Kuran?"

"Why would they lie to you?" Ruka asked sharply. "What would that possibly accomplish for them?"

The nobles pondered that for a moment in silence, and then the headmaster gently cut in and said, "As Kaname-kun said, I do have spare rooms that I would be willing to share with you for the night if you would like to rest. I can take you to them now if you would like." Realizing that there was nothing that they could do until Kaname made his decision, the expressed their gratitude and followed the headmaster to their rooms.

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Yuuki opened her eyes surprised to see that she was back on the roof of the moon dorm. She looked around in confusion and began to panic a little when she realized that there was nothing and no one around her. Where the trees and sky should have been there was only blackness and emptiness.

"Hello!" she yelled as loudly as she could. He panic increasing when she couldn't hear the sound of her own voice though she had felt her vocal cords move. She wondered if she had gone deaf and tried to clap her hands to make a sound and was again met with silence though she felt the sting on her flesh from the impact.

Inside her head she suddenly heard a cruel mocking laugh. She turned looking for the source of the laughter and felt her heart stop at the sight. Standing on the opposite end of the roof was a man that she had never wanted to see again: her uncle.

_No!_ she thought almost desperately _he can't be here. He's dead._

"Are you sure about that Yuuki," his voice asked inside her head swirling like a noxious fume. She shut her eyes as though not seeing him would make him unable to speak in her mind. _I killed him_ she thought, trying to reassure herself. _I killed him and he is dead and can never hurt anyone again._

"How do you know," he whispered closing the distance between them and stroking her arm, "did you actually see my body?"

_I didn't need to! _She thought angrily_ I felt you die. And DON'T touch me._ He laughed at her again. And moved behind her, embracing her and restraining her as he had done earlier. _Please don't. _ she begged silently. _Please, not again. _She felt tears beginning to fall down her face and her throat felt tight in fear.

"Now Yuuki," he asked in a mock sympathetic tone, "Do you really think that will work this time?" his hands began roaming her body and he sighed at the feel of her sobbing form. She struggled against him trying to get free.

_You're not real,_ she kept repeting to herself.

"I'm as real as you are," his voice said deep within her mind. "I'm a part of you now. You can never get rid of me."

_NO! _ she screamed finally breaking the silence around her and suddenly sounds rushed to her ears. His excited panting and her sobbing gasps. The sounds infuriated her. _ "_We are not going to do this again," she snapped turning to face him. "I've killed you once and I can do it again_." _

He smiled condescendingly at her and said "Dear naïve girl, to kill me you will have to kill yourself." And then he disappeared into the blackness leaving her standing on the site of her worst memory. She felt her strength leave her and she collapsed to her knees and began sobbing to herself. "It can't be true," she whispered over and over again.

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Kaname awoke suddenly to Yuuki twitching against him. He glanced around quickly and was soon satisfied that there was nothing but the two of them in the room. Figuring that she had just spasmed in her sleep, he rolled over and was about to go back to sleep when he heard her mutter, "No" I a pitiful almost plaintive voice.

He hadn't known that she talked in her sleep and was intrigued as to what she was dreaming about. "He's dead," she mumbled softly moving again. Now her breath was speeding up. He was watching her dream and was no longer intrigued by her behavior; he was troubled by it. Who was dead? And what on earth was she dreaming about? He reached out to pat her soothingly to try to ease her out of the dream.

His skin had barely made contact with her when she cried out, "DON'T touch me." It was so much louder and clearer than her other mumblings had been that he figured she had woke up and immediately began to apologize for touching her without permission, but then she went back to her mumbling and twitching. Now she was sobbing and tears were beginning to roll down her pale cheeks. "Please don't" she mumbled tossing her head. "Please not again." Kaname now knew what she was dreaming about and felt rage and sorrow rise in his chest. He may have been unable to stop it the first time, but this time he had the power to help her. All he had to do was wake her up.

Knowing from past experience that she might wake up violently, he held her wrists gently in one of his hand and shook her shoulder gently with the other. "Yuuki," he said gently but firmly and loudly, "You need to wake up now." When she didn't respond, he shook her a little harder attempting to get her to respond.

"You're not real," she mumbled trying to pull her arms away from him.

"I am real Yuuki, and I'm always here for you, now you need to wake up!" he said shaking her again.

"NO," she screamed into his face before descending into sobs and attempting to curl up on herself.

Kaname took his attention from Yuuki's face as he heard the door hit the wall behind him and turned to see an angry Kyriuu standing there a line of blood on the side of his face and breathing heavily. Behind him stood an ashamed Seiren looking a little disheveled herself.

"What the hell is going on here Kuran?" he snapped.

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**Well thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you think about it. (even if you hate it or me).**

**Thanks,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	15. Chapter 15

**OK, so I lied about the 3 'o clock Friday update last week. But I do have a good excuse this time. . . well at least I think it's a good excuse. I had a biochemistry midterm that I didn't realize was coming up and needed to have a cram session. But I did make this almost twice as long as the average chapter to make up for it :) enjoy.**

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Zero wandered the halls of the Headmaster's house, unable to sleep with all the vampires that were there. He had no idea what that man had been thinking letting all of those _things_ stay over on the campus with all the human students still there. In Zero's opinion, he was just asking for trouble. But it wasn't going to be his ass on the line if anything happened to anyone because of that delusional man. He knew one thing though, he was going to do what he could to protect the humans from the animals.

_Like you did Yuuki?_ A rude part of him snarked. He ignored that voice and continued on his path through the halls. Perhaps it was the thought of her that led him there or just force of habit, but he soon found himself walking past Yuuki's door.

He heard her moaning on the other side of the door and he instinctively reached for the handle to see if she was ok.

"Don't touch that," a female voice said quietly from the shadows across the hall. He jumped at the sound of her voice. He hadn't realized that she was even there; and that was a rare thing since he had become a vampire.

"Where the hell did you come from," he snapped at her. Siren gave a small smile that quickly faded at his surprise and stepped out of the shadows. Even though she wanted to laugh at the expression on his face, she kept her expression neutral and leveled her stare at him.

"Where I came from is irrelevant," she said finally. "All that is important is that my master and his sister are resting and have requested that none disturb them until nightfall." She was surprised that she had been so talkative with him. That one burst was more words than she had said in a week. How did he have this effect on her.

"Like I give a damn what _he _wants," Zero said curtly, though the reminder that Kaname was also in that room made him secretly glad that she had been there to warn him _before_ he opened the door and saw Kuran's ass again. He could go the rest of his life and never see that again. "If I feel like she needs me, I will do whatever the hell I want."

Seiren had to admire his courage. Not many in their world would risk defying a pureblood. He was either very brave or very foolish, or a little of both. On second thought, she wasn't sure if she admired or pitied him. Instead of telling him that she might admire him she said, "That could bring us into direct conflict. Do you think you can handle that?"

He was taken my surprise by the callousness with which she discussed a fight between the two of them, because there was no question in his mind that that was what she was implying. "Oh I think I can handle you," he said, taking a step towards her. "Do you think you could take me?"

Mentally she flinched as he closed some of the space between them but she kept her face blank and took a step forward of her own refusing to back down from his challenge though her heart beat did speed up a bit. "I think so," she said with a bravado she wasn't feeling. She had just watched Zero go toe-to-toe with a pureblood and not only hold his own but defeat him. Odds were that if they actually fought she would be unable to beat him.

He heard the rise in her heart rate and smiled as he took another step forward invaded her space. "Really?" he asked. She met his stare levely and her heart spead up again. There was a bit of tension in her eyes and she took a step back trying to put a little distance between them and she bumped into the wall. He followed her keeping the same space between them.

When she hit the wall, she felt a moment of panic. There wasn't much that she could do if they came to blows with her backed against the wall. Somehow it didn't feel to her like that was what was about to happen, but she had no idea what _was_ going to happen next. Whatever it was it excited her, something about his nearness caused her breathing and pulse to race. She felt her expression soften with confusion.

He stood above her looking at her eyes and saw the brief flash of panic in them when her back hit the wall but then it was replaced by something that he couldn't name and he felt himself drawn to her. He put his hands on either side of her head on the wall and leaned towards her.

She tried to lean further back but was unable to do so because of the wall. She was unsure what his expression was. It almost seemed like hunger, but his eyes weren't glowing so that wasn't it. Generally being trapped like this would have made her nervous, but she was . . . excited as his face came towards hers.

"DON'T touch me," they heard Yuuki yell from the other side of the door.

"Yuuki," Zero breathed and turned towards the door and started to walk towards it. Seiren reached out and grabbed his wrist to stop him from going towards it. He turned to look back at her and she blushed at her actions.

"You will not go through that door," she said with much more steal than she felt inside. He lifted his lip in a bit of a snarl and tried to pull his hand out of hers.

"Let me go," he said coldly glaring at her. She just shook her head and tightened her grip on his wrist. He didn't know what it was, but even though he had told her to let him go, he really didn't want her to do it. Something about her touch was pleasant. And her blood. Her blood was absolutely delicious.

"I'm sorry," she said snapping him out of his contemplation of her blood, "I cannot do that. I promised my master that no one would go through that door."

"NO," Yuuki screamed from the other side of the door.

"Yuuki," Zero called breaking free from Seiren and heading for the door.

"Stop," she said reaching for him again. He turned to look at her incredulously and a fingernail on her hand that had been reaching for his shoulder sliced into his cheek. She watched the trickle of blood in fascination.

He didn't even seem to notice as he snapped at her, "How can you be so cold? She's in trouble." Then he turned and slammed the door open and saw Kaname pinning Yuuki's arms over her head and hovering over her thrashing, whimpering form. "What the hell is going on here Kuran!" he yelled.

Seiren hung her head in shame; this was the second time in as many days that she had let her master down. Though she did have to admit that she was a little curious as to what they were up to as well. Unlike Zero however she had been raised not to question the actions or motives or purebloods. As she had thought earlier, he was either very brave or very foolish.

Rather than snap at Zero that it was none of his damn business what was going on, Kaname surprised all three of them by saying, "I have no idea what is going on. She seems to be dreaming but I can't wake her up." It was then that Zero took a closer look at the situation and realized that Yuuki was fully clothed and did appear to be sleeping.

"Have you tried to wake her up," Zero asked seriously.

"No," Kaname said sarcastically. "I thought I would just let her sleep and continue to thrash about. Of course I tried waking her up. That why I have her hands pinned down. She was a little violent the last time I tried to wake her."

"Violent," Zero said confused. "Yuuki never liked mornings, but she was never violent when I woke her up."

"Well she is now," Kaname snapped. "She split my lip earlier." Seiren felt a surge of anger at the girl for drawing her master's blood but shoved it down as she remembered that the girl was also a pureblood and Seiren had no right to be angry at her for anything. She wondered if she should leave, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew that this might come to blows again and wanted to be there to step in before anyone got hurt. Also, no one had told her to leave and she needed to make sure that no one else came through the door.

"Then you must be doing it wrong," Zero said curtly. Kaname felt his temper flare at the suggestion that he was unable to even wake his sister correctly and would have snapped at Zero or perhaps done more than that, but another moan from Yuuki diverted his attention.

"If you think you can wake her up, just do it," Kaname said with a hint of desperation in his voice. Something was wrong with Yuuki and she needed to wake up for them to fix it. Not commenting on the tone in Kaname's voice, Zero walked forward and grabbed Yuuki's shoulder firmly and shook it. When she didn't respond he shook her harder. He grabbed her other shoulder to try to see if that would help but to no avail.

"So I was doing it wrong?" Kaname asked pointedly. Zero let out an exasperated breath and released her.

"It's hopeless," he said. "We're just going to have to wait for her to wake up on her own."

"That's not an option," Kaname snared baring his fangs at Zero. "She's in trouble and you want to just wait!"

"Well do you have a better suggestion?" Zero yelled back. "She won't wake up and I'm out of ideas."

"Water," Seiren said from the doorway.

"What," Kaname and Zero said turning to face her.

She got shy with both the garnet and violet eyes staring at her. "Have you tried splashing a little water on her face?" she finally asked. The guys were a little surprised that Seiren had spoken at all.

"That might work," Zero said appreciatively giving her a small smile. His smile made her feel pleased with herself. "I'll be right back with a glass of water."

As he walked past her, Seiren stayed where she was standing and felt the heat from his body as passed her and fought the impulse to reach out and touch him. When he left the room Kaname went back to looking at Yuuki's face as she slept. Her eyes were moving like she was dreaming but she kept whimpering in her sleep. He felt helpless.

The two minutes that Zero took to get to the bathroom and back seemed like an eternity to Kaname. "So how do we do this," he asked Seiren. "I've never splashed someone to wake them up. Put their hand in warm water while they were asleep, yes. But not splashed them."

"Why would you put someone's hand in warm water?" She asked quietly. Zero started laughing and Kaname looked between the two of them speculatively. Kyriuu laughing and Seiren talking, there was something going on there but he had more important things to worry about.

"It it an immature prank in which the person who's hand is placed in water will . . . relieve themselves in their sleep," Kaname said simply. "Now Seiren, come show us how you do this."

"Yes Master," She said simply, blushing at the idea of Zero doing that to someone and wondering who he did it to. She walked forward and placed her fingers in the cup and flicked the water onto Yuuki's face. She wrinkled her nose and turned her head away from Seiren who repeated the action.

"Zero, quit it," Yuuki mumbled. It hurt Kaname a bit that the first name that would some out of her mouth would be _his_ but at least that meant that she didn't think that he was capable of harassing her while she was asleep.

"Master, shake her shoulder while I splash her one more time, please," Seiren said gently. Zero was disgusted with the way her tone changed when she spoke to that _monster, _as opposed to when she spoke to him. She should never be that subservient to anyone.

Kaname did as she suggested and Yuuki gasped and sat up in bed. "Kaname," she sobbed before throwing herself into his arms. He stroked her hair gently and let her weep into his chest whispering soothing things in her ear to calm her. Seiren took a few steps back to the corner of the room to give them a little privacy.

"What was going on?" Zero asked suddenly, breaking into their moment. "Was it a nightmare, or what?"

Yuuki turned to look at him and her eyes were haunted and filled with tears. "Was that all it was?" she finally asked.

"Yes," Kaname breathed stroking her back gently. "It was just a nightmare. You were safe the whole time."

"It felt so real," she whispered through her tears. "I could feel him touching me again and hear his voice. And everything else was so dark it was just him and me and I couldn't even speak," as she continued speaking her voice became more and more hysterical.

Zero clinched his fist at the mention of that man and his eyes got hard. Kaname tried to keep his face neutral in front of Zero and Seiren but felt his jaws clench and his eyes get harder at the knowledge that that bastard was still hurting his dear girl even though he was dead.

"He's dead Yuuki," he said gently. "He can't hurt you anymore. He's gone. It wasn't real."

"Are you sure he's dead?" Yuuki asked almost desperately, gripping the front of Kaname's shirt.

"He vaporized," Seiren said gently from the corner. "He is dead Yuuki-sama."

"But we didn't see the body," She argued. "He could have teleported away from there and we would never know."

"Yuuki," Zero said sharply. "Vampires don't leave bodies when they die, they vaporize. Don't you remember Shizuka's body?"

"Are you sure?" She asked desperately.

"No," Kaname said gently. "We're not sure but it is the most logical situation. From what I have heard, your attack was so sudden that he wouldn't have had time to do anything else. And if he does come back, we will be here for you, ok?" He just wanted her to feel good; he didn't want to let her know that if Rido was still alive there would be nothing he could do to help her.

"Do you promise," she asked, behaving like a small child for the first time since the attack.

"Yes, we promise," Kaname said.

"For once he actually speaks for me too," Zero said. "I don't know how much help I will be if he is not actually dead, but I will do what I can."

"Thank you," she whispered sincerely and gave a weak smile to both of them and Seiren. Seiren took it as the dismissal that it actually was and walked out the door with a "Sleep well, Yuuki-sama, Master." And to the surprise of Yuuki and Kaname, Zero ruffled Yuuki's hair and followed her out the door.

"So do you want to go back to sleep," Kaname asked her gently. "It's been a long day."

She shook her head and said, "I don't think that I could sleep right now."

"What would you like to do then?" he asked a little suggestively.

"Can we just talk?" She asked.

"Of course, what would you like to talk about?"

"Anything," she replied.

"How about we talk about what the nobles brought up tonight. Would you like to be a queen or should we set up a new council?" He asked her.

"What about both," she countered.

"Both?" he asked confused.

"We could take the throne and set up a council. They could vote on issues and present us with ideas that we could then make decisions on what we will do. But we get the final vote," she said simply.

"I like that idea," he said quietly. "Then we don't have to deal with all the petty things but they don't get too much power."

"Kaname, would you be willing to help me learn how to master my pureblood powers?" she asked suddenly changing the subject. "It is disconcerting to have all this power inside me and not know how to control it."

"Of course, Yuuki," He said in surprise. "I will help you with that as soon as you like, starting tomorrow. I hate to say this, but I am exhausted. And after your show of power, I'm surprised that you aren't."

"I am," she said sadly, "But I'm afraid to sleep. I'm afraid that I will dream about him again."

"If you would like," he said gently, "I can put you into a dreamless sleep." She nodded and he put a hand on her forehead and released a little of his power. She saw a haze of purple before her eyes began to drift closed.

"Thank you," she mumbled just as she collapsed into his arms. He laid her gently on the bed and moved a strand of hair off her face before he kissed her forehead and lay down beside her and joined her in sleep.

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Seiren walked down the hall glad to be out of that room. There was too much emotion there for her taste. It was disconcerting for her to see that much emotion from a pureblood. She knew that they were still vampires, but most pureblood were more restrained in public than Yuuki-sama is. And Kaname-sama, his was not as obvious but there was still more emotion from him when he was around her.

"How can you stand to do that?" Zero asked suddenly from behind her. Wondering if she had been speaking aloud, she turned to face him.

"What do you mean?" she snapped her temper short because of the stress of the last few days.

"Talking to them like they are gods rather than flesh and blood creatures," he explained continuing walking towards her though she had stopped when she turned to glare at him.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," She said looking away from his intense eyes and the tempting line of blood on his cheek.

"You're right, I don't. But you could try to explain it to me," he said in a surprisingly gentle tone. Even though she acted so tough there was something about her that was fragile and uncertain and it called to him.

"For us they are gods," she explained. "They live and they wield powers that none of us can even imagine. You saw what Yuuki-sama did today and you heard what Kaname-sama did. They could do that to any of us at anytime and there would be nothing we could do about it. The fact that you do not fear them impresses me. You are either very brave or very foolish."

Zero laughed again and replied, "I'm neither brave nor foolish, I just don't care. I have to die someday and at least that death will probably be less painful than my change to a vampire was. I will never be able to see them the way that you do after what Shizuka did to my family."

"And you will never be able to see Yuuki-sama that way," she said with a smile.

"No," he replied with a smile as well. "It's kinda impossible to see the girl you watched throw up as a child when she was sick as a god."

"Can you explain something to me," she asked suddenly, her eyes sparkling.

"Sure, what do you want to know," he replied hoping he hadn't agreed to something he would regret.

"Who's hand did you place in warm water?" she asked. She immediately regretted asking that question when his eyes lost the sparkle they had had a moment before and took on a more melancholy light. "You don't have to answer me if it pains you," she said wishing she could take back what she had said.

"No, it's ok," he said. "I was my twin brother's. Right after I found out about the trick."

"I'm sorry," she said reaching out to grab his hand though she generally avoided unnecessary physical contact. He surprised himself when he didn't pull away from her touch but rather felt himself lean down and gently place his lips against hers.

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**So what do you think? Is Seiren going to kill Zero and how is he going to react to his drastic behavior? What will the nobles think about Yuuki's idea for their new government? Tell me what you think and leave me a review if you feel so inclined.**

**Thank you for reading this chapter,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	16. Chapter 16

**Guess what! Exactly I have a new chapter for you. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no claim to (though it should be obvious at this point)**

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As his face had neared hers, Seiren had been unsure why he was approaching her, then his lips touched hers tentatively and gently. She stood there shocked as he left them there for a few seconds and then pulled back and blinked. She parted her lips to ask him why he had kissed her when he blushed and bowed to her saying, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." She was about to tell him that she didn't mind that he had done it but he continued speaking saying, "I'm going to make sure that the elder vampires are asleep and then go to bed myself. I will see you later."

"I need to get back to guarding my master's door anyway," she said turning away and trying to keep her pace normal when all she wanted to do was run away. She wished that he didn't regret what he had done as much as he seemed to. She didn't have much experience with people and especially not with kissing but she didn't think it had been _that _unsatisfactory. She almost wished that he hadn't done it. Now what had been so companionable was tense and awkward.

"Seiren," he called suddenly and she turned hoping that. . . well she didn't know what she was hoping, but for something good to come of all this, "Thank you."

She didn't ask for clarification but nodded her head in acknowledgment of his thanks and kept walking the direction of Yuuki's room and her post for the night. Anyone who passed her would not have noticed anything different in her expression because she keep it as neutral as always (except when she was around _him_) but inside her mind was raging and spinning like a hurricane. _I was horrible and he hates me, _she thought angrily _what kind of good bye is 'thank you.' Oh well, I don't need him anyway I have more important things to take care of that worrying about one level D. Odds are he would only bring me pain anyway. I'm better off without him. _ But even as she thought it she wondered if it was true and was thankful for the shadows because they allowed her to hide the single tear that fell.

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As he watched her leave he could have kicked himself. What the hell had he been thinking? There was no way that she was interested in him. She was part of Kaname's inner circle which meant that she was _at least_ a noble. There was no way that she would be interested in an ex-human vampire who was also a hunter. It was impossible. Why had he kissed her? He hadn't even thought about it, it just seemed like the right thing to do. And "thank you" what kind of idiotic thing was that to say. He had seen the hurt in her eyes as he had said it and instantly wished that he could take it back.

_I was right,_ he thought sadly, _when I told Yuuki that I can only cause pain to those that I care about. Wait, since when do I care about her?_ Even though he had told her that he was going to make one more pass of the grounds around the headmaster's house and then go to sleep, he had lied. Sleep was not going to be an option after what had just happened. He had too much to think about. Instead he made one more pass of the house and then decided that he was going to take a shower since he was _still _covered in blood.

As he closed and locked the door behind him, all the memories that he had fought to keep back came rushing forward like a flash flood. Ichiru's broken form, Yuuki bleeding and in pain and then him holding his gun on her, Seiren's eyes as she looked at him that last time. He hadn't cried when his parents had died because he had the anger of revenge to hold on to, but this time, there was nothing to help him hold back the tears. In an attempt to cover the sounds of his sobs from any that might hear, he turned on the shower.

Seeing the red water that flowed down the drain didn't help with the memories though he thought it should have. In that water was the blood of at least two people. Everything in his world revolved around blood anymore and he assumed that memories would also be tied to blood, as if washing away the blood from the even could help to wash away the event itself. But he had been wrong. Even long after he was clean he couldn't purge the images that haunted his mind.

Another flash of Seiren's eyes gave him hope. He may have no chance of fixing the other things that had happened today, but he had a chance to fix what had happened with her. She seemed like a rational woman; maybe if he went and talked to her she would understand what had happened. It was with this hope that he got dressed and went to find her, not that that was difficult. She was in the same dark corner that she had been in the last time he had run into her only this time she was sitting in the floor. He wasn't sure that he had ever seen her sit before, it was a little odd.

"Would you like some company?" he asked quietly sitting beside her without waiting for her reply. She turned to blink at him owlishly, she hadn't heard him come up and that was not a good thing when she was _supposed _to be guarding a door. When she realized who he was she turned her head away angrily.

"What do you want?" She snapped looking away from him back to the door. He was surprised at the venom in her tone. She had been cool towards him before, but this almost sounded like hate. At least he knew what to do with that emotion. He sighed.

"I just wanted to talk about what happened earlier," he said slowly. She was angry that he would dare bring that up. She had been hoping that they could both forget about it and move on but that was impossible if he wouldn't quit talking about it. "I—"

"I don't want to hear it," she cut him off rudely. "I don't want to talk about it. I want to forget it ever happened." Her words were like knives to him. She wanted to forget what had happened. She didn't like him. _But why did she look so hurt_? A part of him asked.

They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments, then Zero finally said, "I'm sorry, for you know, kissing you. I shouldn't have done that. I don't know why I did."

"Why did you?" She asked still not looking at him.

"I just said I don't know why I did it! Why would you ask why I did it?" he snapped frustrated that she would ask something so stupid. When she didn't answer he kept talking. "Well, I suppose. . . I don't know. There's _something_ about you that draws me to you. For some reason I like being around you."

"I like being around you too," she said with a small smile finally looking at him again. "I don't know why either but something about being around you makes me happy." That small smile lifted Zero's heart in ways he never thought possible. He had loved Yuuki for so long and now he was shifting his affection so suddenly. Slowly as he sat there in a comfortable silence with Seiren he came to realize that he had never really loved Yuuki for Yuuki but for her kindness and her determination to be there for him. He had mistaken her caring for love. He had cared for Yuuki, and still did, but he didn't actually love her. Not anymore. He gently tapped the back of Seiren's hand with his own and she looked at him cautiously and the placed her hand gingerly in his and squeezed it gently.

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Yuuki awoke the next evening feeling refreshed and rested. She looked beside her and saw Kaname sleeping peacefully. He looked so young and innocent in his sleep and she hated that there was so much blood on his hands on account of her. She wished that he could always look so peaceful. She gently brushed a lock of hair away from his forehead still slightly shocked that he was actually not just able to be hers but _meant _for her. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips softly and tried to get out of bed as gracefully as she could so as not to wake him.

Thankful for her vampire skills again, she crept to the closet and got a change of clothes before she headed equally stealthily to the door and opened it. With one last look at her sleeping lover, she closed the door quietly behind her and was prepared to head to the bathroom to take a shower and change clothes.

She was startled when she caught a flash of sliver out of the corner of her eye and turned her head to put her full attention on it. Sitting on the floor in the corner of the hallway was none other than Zero. It surprised her that he had camped out in front of her and Kaname's room but she supposed that he was trying to make good on his promise to protect her. What surprised her even more though was the Seiren was sitting on the ground next to Zero with her head on his shoulder and both of them were asleep. If she didn't know better, it looked like they were holding hands. Smiling at the two of them she crept past and went on into the shower. She was glad that Zero had found someone that made him happy and secretly hoped that they woke up before Kaname because she could see him making fun of them for that.

After she finished her shower, which took longer than she had anticipated because of the sheer amount of hair that she now had to deal with, she blow dried her hair and fought the urge to cut it back to where it had been a few days before only because she realized that there was no way she could cut the back of it herself. It felt good to be clean again, though she didn't truly feel clean and doubted she ever would. But even if she wasn't clean, she was loved and that mattered too. She walked back to her room with a smile on her face and was surprised to see that Zero and Seiren were still asleep where they had been.

She debated a second and then decided that she would wake them up before anyone else caught them in their private moment. She knelt beside Zero and nudged his shoulder. His mouth twitched and he mumbled in his sleep. She wrinkled her nose in frustration. She didn't want to wake Seiren because she wasn't sure how well the other girl took surprise. Another nudge to Zero, this one a little more forceful had him opening a lavender eye to tell her, "I'm not going to school today, leave me alone."

"That's good," she replied, "Since it's evening and school is long since over. But you need to get up."

"Why?" He mumbled sleepily nuzzling Seiren's head. She moaned a little and stirred in her sleep.

"Maybe because you're sitting in the hall in front of my room cuddling Kaname's bodyguard," she said in a rush fighting the urge to laugh. _Boy is Seiren going to be mad when she realizes she is in this position with a hunter_, Yuuki thought smiling. _I can't believe Zero let her sleep on him like that, he must have been really tired.i wonder if they are secretly dating._

"Am not," Zero said opening his eyes fully and realizing that he was in fact cuddling Seiren, and that she was cuddling him back. He nudged her gently in the side to wake her and she was instantly awake but her eyes were unfocused.

"What happened?" she asked confused looking up at Zero and not realizing that Yuuki was standing right there.

"We fell asleep on the job," Zero said seriously admiring her sleep tousled hair.

She stretched against him and said with a smile, "At least no one caught us asleep on the job." Then in a surge of boldness, she raised up a little and kissed him gently on the lips.

"I knew it!" Yuuki crowed in joy. "You two are together!" Both Seiren and Zero blushed and started to deny it when they realized that they had no idea what they were. Were they a couple? Just then Kaname opened the door to the bedroom and stifled a yawn with a hand before he ran it through his hair. Instantly Zero and Seiren broke apart. Letting Yuuki see them together was one thing but Kaname was another thing entirely.

"Good evening Yuuki," he said with a smile. "What are you yelling about so early?"

"Nothing," she replied with an innocent expression hoping that he hadn't noticed the two behind her.

"That was awfully loud for nothing," he said not buying her expression for a second but deciding to let it go since he needed to use the restroom. "Whatever you say Yuuki," whispered as he walked past her to the bathroom. Just as all three of the other vampires let out a sigh of relief that he hadn't seen Zero and Seiren doing anything odd, Kaname said, "Did you have fun, Kyriuu, Seiren?" It was obviously a rhetorical question and they took it as such.

Kaname laughed quietly to himself at the look of shock on all their faces as he walked off. The idea of Zero and Seiren together didn't trouble him at all. In fact it comforted him. Since she was always near him and now Zero would most likely be near her, and Yuuki would be near him whenever possible, it worked to a double advantage for him. It gave Yuuki two bodyguards and eliminated Zero's ability to be a potential rival. Actually it couldn't have worked out better for him if he planned it himself. The only thing that worried him a little was the meeting they had with the nobles today. He hoped that Yuuki was up to it.

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**There we go ya'll another chapter, a day before the deadline this time! I hope you enjoyed it. Well tell me what you think, if you have time or would like to. As always thank you for taking the time to read my newest chapter.**

**Thanks,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no claim to.**

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Yuuki watched Kaname walk away wondering what on earth was going through his head. For all that she loved him, she wasn't really sure that she understood him. She trusted him, but how much did she really know about him. For ten years all she had known was that he was the vampire that had saved her life. She hadn't even known that he was a pureblood until recently. After that revelation it had seemed like her life had been nothing but a whirlwind of discoveries and changes and it was all happening so fast. She felt a sob rise up her throat at the feeling that things were spinning out of control.

"Yuuki," Zero called reaching for her at the same time that Seiren asked, "Are you ok, Yuuki-sama?" She knew that she needed to pull herself together. She was a pureblood and purebloods don't panic dammit! By sheer force of will she pushed the feeling of being overwhelmed down and smiled at Zero and Seiren replying, "I'm fine, thank you."

Seiren was convinced, but Zero could still see the panic that had almost drowned her present in her eyes. His expression let Yuuki know that he didn't believe that she was fine and she flaked under the pressure of his stare.

"Um," she began eloquently, "I . . . I need to . . . get ready for the meeting with the nobles." She finally said. "I will see you all later." When she finished speaking she fled to the security of her bedroom without waiting for a reply and sat on her bed trying to wrap her head around all that had happened in the last couple of months. With everything out in the open, she had no idea how she had ever not realized what was going on. Kaname miraculously being in the right place at the right time to save her, the chairman taking her in without question, Zero being a vampire (though that had been hidden better than the others), Kaname being a pureblood, her being a pureblood and related to Kaname. All these coincidences, or at least things that had seemed like coincidences, how had she never put it together.

For want of something to occupy her hands while her brain worked she decided to try to figure out something to do with her newly lengthened locks. She was so engrossed in her various tasks that she didn't hear Kaname come back from the restroom. "Am I that stupid?" she asked herself closing her eyes and meaning more the fact that two plus two never equaled four for her than that she couldn't do anything with her hair.

Kaname said nothing and walked silently over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist to attempt to comfort her. She instantly stiffened in his arms and her breathing and pulse accelerated. He released her and tried to back away so as not to startle her. She turned to face him, sheer panic in her eyes only to have them soften to sadness when she recognized him.

She felt horrible. She had freaked out again and all he had done was touch her. His scent had filled her nose moments before he had done it and she still freaked out. "I'm sorry," she whispered sadly.

"Yuuki," he sighed pity filling his eyes. He opened his arms and she stepped willingly into them. He hugged her to him and wished that he could take all of it away. Everything that troubled her, but he knew that he couldn't. He just hoped that someday she would be able to smile from her heart again. "I'm so sorry."

She sighed against him and then attempted to change the subject and brighten the mood. "I realized something today Kaname," she chirped.

"What is that Yuuki?" he asked his face showing surprise at her sudden mood change.

"I know absolutely nothing about you except that you are my brother and that you love me," she replied in that same happy tone, but there was a tinge of melancholy to her words.

"What do you mean?" he managed to say around his constricting throat. He hoped that she wasn't about to do what he thought she was and break up with him or refuse to rule with him or refuse to be around him.

"I mean like, what do you like to do in your free time? What's your favorite color? What's something that you hate doing? How old are you?" She clarified with a laugh. Then she saw his pained expression. "You thought I was going to tell you that we needed to slow down until I learned more about you didn't you?" she asked slowly.

He nodded mutely unable to come up with the words to answer her last question. She laughed and said, "Of course that's not going to happen. I already know the most important thing: that you love me. The rest is just curiosity." He felt his heart soar at that answer and hoped that his answers to her other question would not lead to her changing her mind.

"Come here," he said leading her over to the bed. "The answer to the first is chess. I love to play chess." He laughed as she wrinkled up her nose at that figuring (rightly so) that it meant that she either didn't know how to play or hated the game. He would find out which it was later. "My favorite color is actually white. That is why the night class uniforms are white."

"white isn't a color," Yuuki said laughing.

"It is too," Kaname said simply.

"Is not."

He rolled his eyes and chose to not get into this argument with her. "I hate doing paperwork," he continued answering her questions instead. "And what was the last question?" he asked hoping that she had forgotten.

"How old are you?" she replied without missing a beat.

"I don't really know," he answered wishing he could lie to her. "More than 10,000 years old but I'm not exactly sure."

She looked shocked for a moment and then smacked his arm as he had seen her do to Zero on numerous occasions and say, "I wanted an honest answer."

"That was the honest answer, Yuuki," he said slowly.

"Oh yeah?" she snapped. "Prove it."

"Come here," he said baring his neck to her. "Drink." She looked at him warily unsure if she wanted to know for sure if he was teasing her.

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**Sorry it wound up being so short ya'll but I wanted to get something up for you like I promised that I would. There will most likely be no update next week since I have my final exam for my biochemistry class next Friday, but I may be able to get one written for you after class lets out and before I have to go to work. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, thank you for reading and review if you feel so inclined, I still haven't decided if I am going to have Yuuki drink his blood and am willing to take ideas on this one. **

**Thank you,**

**Stickdonkeys.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Well, class is over for now so here is a new chapter for you. I hope you enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no claim to.**

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"I said 'drink'," Kaname stated looking at her levelly.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Can we do this after the meeting with the nobles?" she begged not knowing if she could deal with the fact that her relationship with him was going to change for the third time in as many days.

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?" He asked. "Once we have talked to them it will be harder to back out of the arrangement if you decide that you can't be with me." She thought about it a second. He was right, if they talked to the nobles and decided to rule together it would be that much harder to end things with him if she decided that was what she needed to do. Besides could she rule with someone who would lie to her?

She sighed again and sat down next to him on the bed. "Kaname," she whispered her eyes bright with unshead tears. He pulled her to him and held her.

"I'm sorry Yuuki," he said stroking her hair gently. "There had to have been a better way to tell you, but I have no idea what that is. I can't really apologize for not telling you sooner since you have only remembered who I am for three days and—"

She kissed him cutting off his apology. When they broke apart, she smiled up at him showing her newly grown fangs. She leaned in to his outstretched neck and prepared to sink her teeth into his flesh when he suddenly stopped her. She looked at him with curiosity. It had been his idea, why had he stopped her?

"There are things in my past that are very disturbing that I would prefer you not see," he said sadly. "But this is the best way for you to get the answers to your questions. This is also your first lesson in pureblood abilities. Actively seek the answer to your question in my memories; I will lower my boundaries to make it easier.

"You have already done this once when you fed from Zero, though I don't know if you were actively doing it. Just do the same thing again. Keep your question in your mind and use it as a guide. If something you see disturbs you just focus on your question or stop feeding and it will fade," he advised.

"But Kaname," she asked suddenly, "How is this a property of the purebloods when Zero once told me that my blood told him that I loved you?" Kaname felt a surge of jealousy at her mention of that Level D drinking the blood if his mate but soon squashed it when he realized what she had just said.

"Lower level vampires can feel strong emotions or strong surface thoughts when they feed," he explained patiently. "He was able to feel your love because of the strength of it. Only purebloods are able to guide what they see and see memories that are not currently being thought of. Come, give it a try," he directed baring his neck for her again.

_I wonder what dark things he is worried about me seeing in his blood, _she thought as she approached his neck with her fangs once more. _No, I can't think about that or it's what I'll see. How old is Kaname really? _she thought as her fangs pierced his skin.

Instantly her mind was flooded with colors which morphed into faces and places that were not from her memory. Finally the whirl of images stopped and she was standing in a home. She looked around in surprise and saw that it was in a style that she was unfamiliar with. Nothing was familiar, except for the small dark-haired boy playing in the floor with his dark-haired brother. The only difference between the two boys was that one had the same wine colored eyes as Kaname while the other had brilliant blue eyes. The other boy leaned forward and the one with the same colored eyes a Kaname leaned towards him, his eyes beginning to glow. Knowing what was about to happen, Yuuki winced a little for the other boy as Kaname kissed the boy on the forehead and he fainted.

Suddenly a scream rent the air and a girl with green eyes that Yuuki had not noticed until then began screaming in a language that Yuuki didn't understand. Soon a light haired woman ran into the room and knelt beside the boy in the floor. Then she turned to Kaname and asked him something in the same foreign language. His tone as he replied was desperate and apologetic. And there was sadness in her eyes at the words that left her mouth next. All Yuuki knew was that her words seemed to fill Kaname with shame and he hung his head as he replied. Though she had no idea what had been said, Yuuki could tell that the woman was Kaname's real mother and that she was human, even though that was impossible.

Then the memory changed and she was looking at a young adult Kaname talking to the same woman, who looked like she had aged more than the amount of time that should have passed from the previous memory to then. They were standing in front of the house that they had been in before and there was love and sadness in both their eyes. It was apparent that they were saying goodbye. Behind her, inside the house, stood two middle-aged people: a boy with blue eyes and a girl with green eyes. It took Yuuki a moment to realize that these were the other children from the first memory. They looked on their brother with fear and it hurt Yuuki to see that Kaname's own family had feared him. Barely there in Kaname's eyes was the hurt that Yuuki knew he must fell and a bit of sorrow. Then he smiled and hugged his mother and walked away into the night without looking back.

The next memories were fragments that had no coherency but seemed to involve a cloaked woman that looked suspiciously like Kaname's mother had looked all those years ago, only this woman was a vampire. Yuuki could sense the love between them and had to fight a surge of jealously. Idly she wondered what happened to the woman and was soon sucked into a memory of Kaname standing in front of a forge. She could tell from the set of his jaw and shoulders that he was in pain and refusing to let it show. There was another man talking to him and though the words were strange she could understand the gist of the conversation. The woman had sacrificed her life to give humanity a chance against the level E's and created the hunters. Leaving Kaname alone again. Yuuki felt her heart break at his pain and loneness.

_So Kaname was there when the hunters were created, _Yuuki thought. _I wonder how he got to be in my time._ With that thought she was suddenly in a room she didn't recognize. It looked like a giant mausoleum, but she had never seen one on that scale. She was drawn to a coffin in the center of the room and began to approach it. She reached her hand out to touch it, but just before she could make contact a door behind her began to open. She turned; expecting to see Kaname walk through the door but instead saw the man of her nightmares carrying a baby. She watched in horror as he walked to the coffin and opened it. She tried to stop him as he slaughtered the defenseless child in sacrifice but was unable to make contact with him. The next bit was a blur of hair and teeth and blood but slowly she realized that Kaname had been the one in the coffin. Soon they heard footsteps in the hall and suddenly Yuuki was standing alone in the room. At her feet were a mangled Rido and an infant. She watched as her father picked up the child and left his brother laying there.

Having seen more than enough, Yuuki pulled her teeth from Kaname's neck and opened her eyes to look at him. He smiled sadly at her. He had no need to ask what she had seen because he had followed her path through his memories. "Do you have any questions?" he asked her quietly. She shook her head sadly and kept her eyes locked with his.

"Do you hate me now?" He asked feigning indifference. She could see his fear and his pain. So many women had loved him and left him in his long life and she refused to be another.

She smiled gently and reached up to stroke his cheek. He leaned into the touch thinking that this might be the last time she touched him. "Of course I don't hate you Kaname," she said. "Nothing between us has changed except now I know more about you." She paused for a moment then continued, "Actually I'm not sure if this is more or less creepy than being in love with my brother. I mean, it's still a weird idea from a human perspective, but I think it's less disturbing because we are less closely related. But then there's the age thing. . ."

He watched her nose wrinkle up in concentration and he decided to join her conversation with herself. "Well, is my age even really an issue?" he asked her. "When you take into account that we live forever, as I am living proof of, it becomes a moot point, does it not?"

She thought about it a moment and then said slowly, "No, I guess it doesn't. And it's not like you look like you're over twenty, let alone 10,000. Though sometime you do act like it." She finished with a smile to let him know that she was teasing.

"Is that so?" he asked rising to her bait and tackling her to the bed gently. "Would a 10,000 year old man do this?" he challenged licking up the side of her neck to take her earlobe between his teeth.

"Well since you're the only one I know I would have to say 'yes'," she replied a little breathlessly. Her eyes met her lovers and she knew instantly that he was planning evil. Rather than cause her fear, that knowledge caused her to begin to squirm with desire.

He watched her eyes light with desire and felt himself harden in response. There was something about her innocent face colored with pleasure that caused him to be creative and want to see if he could cause that blush to spread. With this in mind, he smiled and reached under her skirt to remove her underwear. He positioned himself between her knees and smiled in satisfaction when she wrapped her legs around his waist. But that would impeded the plans he had for her so he gently unhooked her feet from behind his back and placed them back on the mattress.

"So eager," he said with a chuckle stroking the side of her face. She closed her eyes and leaned into the touch, enjoying the cool skin of his hands against the flushed skin of her face. He took advantage of her closed eyes to move his head to her thighs where he gently planted a kiss on the inside of her leg. She jumped a little surprised at the action and attempted to close her legs but he gently put his hands on her knees.

"Kaname, What—" she began attempting to sit up and see what he was doing under her skirt hem.

"Hush my dear," he said his breath tickling her thighs and caressing her womanhood.

"But what are you doing?" she asked almost desperately.

His eyes peaked over her skirt looking innocent and devilish at the same time. "Offending your sensibilities," he said simply before he ran his tongue along her slit without warning. She tensed and her back arched with pleasure. But it was a guilty pleasure. She saw no reason that he should be doing that. Undeniably she enjoyed it and was unable to keep in her moan of pleasure as he flicked her nub with his tongue, but it seemed wrong that she should get such pleasure from him when he was getting none from her. When he sucked on her, she gasped out and reached down to grasp a handful of his hair and attempted to pull him away from her. Rather than release her gently, his mouth broke off the suction with a pop and she tightened her hold on his hair and felt her body move of its own accord.

"Please Kaname," She begged, not entirely sure if she was asking him to continue or to stop.

He looked at her in confusion. He was under the impression that she was enjoying herself and here she was trying to physically stop him. Of course if that was what she really wanted he would oblige her but he couldn't understand why she wanted him to stop. "What's the matter Yuuki? Did I hurt you?" he asked desperately. He hated the idea that he may have hurt her.

"No," she replied. "It makes me feel selfish," she explained seeing his confusion. "I enjoy what you are doing, and you aren't getting anything in return."

He smiled once he realized her reason and was touched that she cared so much for their equality even in the face of her own pleasure and desire. "My dear girl, I am getting something in return," he said. His confusion didn't dissipate but rather found a new home, on Yuuki's face.

"I don't understand," she said.

"I get the satisfaction of knowing that I can cause you that much pleasure," he explained patiently. "And maybe you can return the favor later." She felt a flicker of doubt cross her face. She loved Kaname, but the idea of doing _that_ kind of disgusted her. She knew what else men used those things for and wasn't sure that she could stand the idea of one being in her mouth. She wasn't sure that he would understand that for once it really wasn't him, it was her.

Kaname saw that flicker and the sorrow that followed it and reached up to stroke her face again. "Yuuki, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I was actually joking about offending your sensibilities. I didn't realize that I actually _was_."

"It's ok," she said with a small laugh. " I guess of the two of us I really am the old stick in the mud."

He laughed with her and then joked back saying, "Yes, you are. And don't forget it!"

Just then a knock at the door broke their happy little bubble and after a quick glance around to make sure the room was presentable, he helped Yuuki to sit up and called "Come in." \/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/

**Here we are y'all. Another chapter and this one is closer in length to the previous ones. I figured it was about time for a little more pureblood smut. I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading, and as always feel free to tell me what you think!**

**Stickdonkeys**


	19. Chapter 19

**Here you are, the newest chapter of my story. I appoligize for the lack of updates lately but college just started up again and I swear all of my profs think I have nothing better to do than read for their class. Anyway, I finally got this up for you! I hope you enjoy!**

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The nobles had assembled themselves in the drawing room where they had met the two purebloods the night before and waited for them to make themselves present for the meeting they had today. Though there had been no set time, the nobles had figured that it would take place around an hour after dusk. It was now two and a half hours after dusk and still the purebloods were not present and the crowd was becoming more and more restless by the minute.

"Someone should go and see what is keeping them," a female voice suddenly cutting through the crowd suggested quietly. No one was sure who had said it and no would claim the statement as their own.

"She's right," Ruka's father said eventually. "But who is willing to do it?"

"Perhaps one of the children," a different woman suggested. "They are closer to Kaname-sama than we are and he would be more likely to show them leniency than he would us."

"That could work," Ruka's father said. "Which of you would like to go ask the pureblood when they are planning to grace us with their presence?" The younger nobles looked at each other for a moment and then as one pointed at Hanabusa, who in turn was pointing at Ruka. He looked at his class mates and then his head drooped as he realized that he had been nominated. His father fought back a smile as he realized that his son too was used to being delegated to the less than desirable tasks that needed to be done.

Looking defeated, Hanabusa walked out of the den and headed for the stairs to the room were Kaname and Yuuki were staying. He walked slowly wishing that he didn't have to be the one to interrupt the two knowing what they were probably doing given all the sexual tension that had been between them for years.

_I could always just go back and say that I couldn't find them,_ he thought almost hopefully. Then he sighed sadly and shook his head as he realized that it would cause a panic that not just one but _two_ purebloods were missing. He turned the corner to the hall where Yuuki's room was his eye on his feet, which were getting heavier with each step. Hearing a giggle, he looked up instinctively.

Sitting on the floor across from Yuuki's door were Zero and Seiren. Aidou froze and his mouth fell open at the scene in front of him. Zero had a hand on her face and rather than removing the ex-human's hand at the shoulder, Seiren was smiling and blushing. If Aidou didn't know better he would have sworn that the giggle he had heard had come from Seiren, but that was impossible. She didn't smile and she defiantly didn't _giggle_. But the proof of her doing both was right in front of him because Seiren giggled again as she playfully pushed Zero's hand away from her face. Her expression fell a little as one of her finger nails nicked his arm.

Aidou expected that things would return to normal now and Zero would yell at her for drawing blood and she would suddenly disappear. Instead she gently brought his arm to her mouth and her pink tongue darted out and lapped up the thin trail of blood like a cat. Zero closed his eyes and drew a breath at the exquisite feeling of her mouth on his arm. His hand unconsciously tangled in her hair and held her there.

More surprising than the scene itself was that neither of them had noticed him. They were both so lost in each other that they had ceased to pay attention to the rest of the world. Seiren was lost in the flavor nuances in his blood that were not present in the blood of normal vampires. There was richness to his blood that she had never tasted, it almost tasted like Kaname and Yuuki smelled but it was different and then there was something else. It was almost . . . wild. That was the only word she could come up with but it excited her. Suddenly a surprised gasp and a "What the hell?" broke her from her musing and she pulled back from his arm slowly trying to regain control of her mental faculties.

As one they turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw a shocked Aidou standing in the middle of the hall. As one they felt first shame at being taken off guard, then embarrassment at what they had been caught doing, then anger at the interruption. Aidou watched the emotions flash through their eyes like quicksilver and decided that he needed to diffuse the situation quickly. Each of them was lethal in their own right and together; he hated to think what the two of them could destroy together if they put their minds to it.

"N-never mind," Aidou said quickly. "I really don't need to know. I mean it is your business after all, right? Do you know where Kaname-sama and Yuuki-sama are? I need them for the meeting with the nobles."

They seemed to relax a little and Seiren glanced at the window to make sure that it was true dark surprised to find that it was. Then she pointed at the door with a raise of her eyebrow. Aidou walked towards the door while Zero stood and offered his hand to Seiren. She took it and allowed him to help her out of the floor surprised by how stiff she was from sitting there all night. Keeping a hold on her hand Zero began walking in the direction of the den where the senior nobles would be waiting. As he passed Aidou, he raised his hand and hid his smile of satisfaction as the other vampire flinched as though he expected Zero to hit him.

Instead he just put a hand on Aidou's shoulder and looked at him levelly before saying, "Remember to knock. Trust me." Zero shuddered slightly and then kept walking the direction he had been headed. Aidou watched him wondering what that warning had been about. He would be lying if he said that it was with no trepidation that he approached the door that had made the stoic hunter shiver. Following his advice, Aidou raised his hand and knocked on the door. A few seconds passed and he was considering knocking again when Kaname called "Come in."

He opened the door slowly and poked his head around the door. Kaname and Yuuki were sitting on the bed and there was a decided flush across her cheeks. Also both of their hair was mussed. "What do you want Aidou?" Kaname asked shortly.

"Well . . . uh. . . " Aidou stuttered.

"What is it Aidou," Kaname snapped.

Yuuki smiled warmly and said, "Don't worry Aidou-senpai, we won't bite." Kaname patted her head indulgently.

"Well," Aidou said slowly, "the nobles would like to know when they can expect you to make an announcement as to your decision Kaname-sama, Yuuki-sama."

"Tell them we will be there within the hour," Kaname said his tone making it clear that what he said was a dismissal.

Aidou saw it for what it was and bowed as he left the room closing the door behind him.

"Well, let's get ready," Yuuki said suddenly bounding over to her vanity and lifting her hair brush. "We really shouldn't keep them waiting."

"So you still want to go through with it then?" Kaname asked slowly.

"Of course," she said looking over her shoulder through the curtain of her hair at him. "Don't you?"

"Yes," he said with a smile. "Yuuki, this is very important. When you are around the nobles, you _must_ control your emotions." She opened her mouth to say something that he could tell from the set of her lips was going to be a reason why that was not true. "It's not from some antiquated tradition or out of fear of offending their sensibilities," he continued. "Our powers are directly tied to our emotions, especially since yours are new and raw. If you were to lose control of your emotions, you could seriously injure someone."

Yuuki felt her eyes go wide at that statement. She had never realized that that was how pureblood powers worked. It now made more sense why Kaname had always seemed so cool and collected. It wasn't that he was actually unfriendly he was just trying to keep an ocean of power dammed up. She nodded with a smile nervous smile and said, "I will do my best."

"That's all I can ask," Kaname said kissing her gently before he led her out of the room.

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Zero stood in the back of the room full of vampires trying not to radiate the tension that was running though him at having so many of them in the same place. He jumped slightly as he felt flesh brush against his own and looked down to see Seiren standing beside him.

"So that means they're on their way, right?" he asked her in a whisper.

She nodded and started surveying the room "They should be here any second," she replied.

True to her words, as soon as she had finished talking, the room went silent as the two purebloods walked in. Soon it filled again with the sounds of insincere inquiries into the rest the two had gotten the night before. Though she tried to hide it, Zero could see the disgust in Yuuki's eyes at the fawning behavior of the nobles. And he had to admit, they were giving him a headache as well. He was almost thankful when Kuran raised his hand and silence fell.

"My sister and I talked about the options that you presented us with yesterday," Kaname said in a quiet voice that carried authority. "And we have come to a decision."

The pause stretched on until one of the nobles asked, "What is it that you have decided, Kaname-sama?" Kaname smiled gently at Yuuki and gave her a little nudge.

"Well," Yuuki began slowly, "It was actually my idea." There was a murmur that went through the crowd at her words. She may be a pureblood, but Zero could see that she didn't yet command the fear and respect that Kuran did. She would need to fix that soon, or she would be in danger. Kaname saw this as well and felt his eyes tighten at the disrespect they were showing his mate.

"What did you decide, Yuuki-sama?" Ruka asked to prompt the shy girl into finishing her statement since she had gotten derailed when the nobles had begun whispering.

Shooting Ruka an appreciative smile, Yuuki continued. "We have decided that we will do neither of the things you suggested." With her new words, a roar of protests flooded her ears and it was everything she could do not to cover them with her hands.

"You must do something, we cannot go without a governing body," one voice said.

"There is no way we can do nothing," said another. The rest was lost in the confusion of everyone trying to talk over everyone else and be heard. Yuuki tried to take control of the conversation back by quietly saying, "Excuse me," a few times but was unsuccessful. Then she had had enough. They would never have done this to Kaname. _They need to respect me,_ she thought _and not just because I am a pureblood vampire but rather that I am a person. I don't want them to fear me, but they do need to respect me enough to let me finish my thoughts and if fear is the place I have to start, so be it._

"SILENCE!" she yelled, cutting through the chatter and cracking a window in the process. Slowly they turned back to look at her and saw her panting in frustration while Kaname rubbed soothing circles in her back. Then she closed her eyes and visibly regained her composure. "Now as I was saying," she continued, "My idea is neither of the original options, but rather a fusion of the two. Kaname and I will assume the throne, _and_ we will form a new vampire senate that will vote on things to be brought to us for approval. So what do you think? I would like your honest opinions. I promise I won't kill you for disagreeing with me."

There was a little nervous laughter at her last statement but then one of the nobles said, "That is a very eloquent solution, Yuuki-sama. Of course there will be details we will need to work out with Kaname-sama and yourself, but I believe that this is the best outcome possible for the given situation."

"Thank you," Yuuki said, nodding her head in his direction. "Does anyone have any critiques of my plan?"

"I do," said a female voice from the door. "Why do you get to be queen?"

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**So what do you think? I hope you enjoyed it. I promise that I will finish this story, updates just may be a little more sporadic than they were this summer. And you may get more than one in the same week if I have time to work on it. Feel free to leave a review if you feel so inclined.**

**Thank you**

**~Stickdonkeys**


	20. Chapter 20

**First off, let me assure all of you that I was not holding this chapter hostage waiting for more reviews. While I appreciate them and love to read them, I don't find it fair to the people who do review to hold chapters hostage. That said, life got a little crazy and this is the first chance that I have had to work on this in a while. I hope it will be worth the wait.**

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Yuuki turned to face the newest addition to the group and felt her heart constrict with a sudden feeling of inadequacy. Standing in the doorway was none other than the woman that she had seen Kaname with the night that she had followed that young vampire boy to the vampire party. Even though she now knew that she and Kaname were meant for each other, seeing the woman that was so much better for him for so long still made her heart feel like it had been ripped from her chest.

Kaname felt her stiffen and put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her flush against him in a gesture that was comforting, protective and possessive at the same time. "Sara," Kaname said levelly inclining his head slightly, "What brings you here tonight?"

"Kaname," she said with a predatory smile. "I felt the wave of power when she awakened and wanted to greet the newest member of our class. Who is she?"

Yuuki felt insulted that Sara would speak to Kaname about her when she was standing in the room with them so she inserted herself into the conversation. "My name is Yuuki Kuran. It's nice to meet you," she said warmly.

"I wish I could say the same." Sara replied rudely before turning her attention back to Kaname. "So you married her then?"

"Not yet," he replied stroking Yuuki's hair in an attempt to soothe the anger that he could feel simmering just under the surface. "We intend to do so, however."

"Then how is _she_ a Kuran?" Sara demanded, eyes narrowing slightly at Yuuki who, rather than shrinking away returned the glare with one of her own.

"_I_ am a Kuran by birth, the same as Kaname. Than answers more than one of your questions," Yuuki said pulling herself up to her full height (which admittedly was not that considerable).

"And what would the other questions be?" Sara asked coolly.

"Why I get to be queen," Yuuki replied. "As a Kuran the right to rule is mine, and as Kaname's wife, the right would be doubly mine."

"And how can you, someone ignorant of our most basic pureblood traditions, _dare_ to site tradition to _me._ One who was raised in the vampire society and has many years on you." Sara demanded. "I recognize you. You were at the party hosted by the Aidous. I saw you on the upper balcony spying on us, But you were only a human then. How is it possible that you are a pureblood vampire now?"

"How does anyone become a pureblood?" Yuuki snapped back feeling the hairs on her arms rise with the force of her anger. _How dare she come into my home and demand answers of me. I don't care who or what she is, that is uncalled for,_ Yuuki thought adding more fuel to her anger. "I was born one, as I told you earlier. As to how I was a human, that is none of your business."

"I think that if you are to be my queen, it is my business," Sara said shortly. "I believe it may be _all_ of our businesses, especially since you will be marrying the only other pureblood who can claim kingship while he lives." Everyone present could feel the threat in her words as well as the implication that Yuuki may not be an appropriate mate for Kaname and should be replaced with someone more fitting: namely herself.

"I disagree," Kaname interjected. "Whomever I decide to marry is my business not that of any other vampire. Even if she was still human, no one would have a say in the matter. And" His voice got decidedly colder, icy even as he continued, "I do not appreciate the implication that my life may be cut short so another could claim the throne."

"I assure you," Sara said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "nothing of the sort was implied. I was only stating the fact that you can take the throne if you choose, I promise." She reached out to touch his arm soothingly, but was stopped by Yuuki grabbing her wrist.

Sara raised an eyebrow and looked at her in shock. In direct contrast to the elegant flowery language of the other purebloods, Yuuki cut to the chase and said, "Do not touch him."

"Excuse me," Sara said attempting to pull her wrist from Yuuki's grasp. Yuuki tightened her grip slightly watching Sara's eyes tighten in frustration and seeing a slight clinch in her jaw before she released her hand abruptly causing Sara to have to take a step back to regain her balance. Yuuki took advantage of the space to place herself between Kaname and Sara.

"You heard me," Yuuki said in a voice few had ever heard her use. The younger nobles exchanged worried glances and the other nobles backed away to give the purebloods more space. Even though they didn't know Yuuki, they did recognize the aura she was emitting and the danger it represented.

Ruka felt her chest tighten a little in fear, her tone had been strikingly similar to the one she had used with Rido and Ruka had no idea what Yuuki might do next.

"Yuuki-sama," Ruka whispered attempting to go to her only to be stopped by a hand on her arm. She turned her head to see who had grabbed her only to see Kain shaking his head at her. "We have to do something," she hissed looking at him.

"And what do you propose we do?" he whispered back.

"Anything!" she whispered desperately. "She may lose control and hurt someone. Even killing her uncle nearly destroyed her. We have to help her."

" She had Kaname-sama right there with her," Kain reminded her gently. "If you try to interfere you may be the one that she accidentally hurts. Just stay out of the way." Though she didn't like it she had to admit that Kain made sense, if anyone could help Yuuki to regain control, it would be Kaname.

"How dare you speak to me that way," Sara said with disgust dripping from her words.

"How dare I?" Yuuki asked with a derisive laugh. "How dare you? You come into _my _house and threaten my fiancé and insinuate that he would be better suited to another. I will not allow it! Who the hell do you think you are?"

Yuuki's eyes had begun to glow red and Kaname decided it was time to intervene. The soothing circles had ceased to be effective and things were beginning to get dangerous. "Yuuki, love, you need to calm down," he whispered in her ear. "Remember what I told you earlier. You have to control your emotions or-"

He was cut off by Sara's indignant statement of, "I am a true pureblood princess, born and raised. You on the other hand may be a pureblood by birth but in reality you are no better than a level D." Everyone in the room gasped at what she had said to Yuuki. That was the worst insult you could say to someone who was not, in fact a level D. "That's all you are, and ex-human vampire who just happens to be a pureblood." Silence met the end of her statement before it was broken by a low growl from Kaname that received an inquiring look from Yuuki's confused and now wine colored eyes.

"That was quite uncalled for Sara," he said anger coloring his tone.

"But accurate," She interjected. "She doesn't even realize that she had been insulted which just proves my argument. She has no right to be queen."

"I will never rule without her," Kaname said with conviction. The implication that he would not rule with Sara clear under the words.

"Then I challenge you both for the right to rule," she replied with a wry smile.

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**Come on, by now ya'll were expecting something like that, right? I would never let them take the throne **_**that **_**easily**_**. **_**Again, I appoligize for the delay and I hope you enjoyed my newest chapter. Please leave me a review if you feel so inclined and thank you for reading.**

**Stickdonkeys**


	21. Chapter 21

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Through everything that had happened so far that day, Kaname had been amused. True, he had been irritated when the nobles had refused to show Yuuki the respect she was due as a pureblood and their future queen, but his amusement at the looks on their faces when Yuuki had shown them the fire he loved about her. He had even been amused and proud when she had stepped between Sara and himself, though a slight amount of concern had marred his amusement that time.

She wasn't in any real danger, even at that range he could have blocked any attack that Sara could have launched at her. He had been more concerned when Yuuki began to lose her control on her emotions. He wasn't sure what emotion was causing it, but he could feel her power brushing against his skin. It tingled and burned and he knew without looking that her eyes would be glowing red. He tried to get her to calm down, reminding her of the consequence of her actions, and then it wasn't necessary.

If anything, someone needed to remind him. Sara's words had tripped something inside him. Even the nobles' rudeness was nothing compared to this. He was even more irked by the fact that Sara seemed to _enjoy_ the fact that she had angered him. No one had done that in thousands of years, as least no one that had survived the experience. And then to have the audacity to challenge them for the right to rule, he who had set the stage for the Kuran kingship and Yuuki the rightful heir to the throne, she would not survive the night.

The tension in the room was palpable. Everyone could feel the anger coming off Kaname in waves and the smug arrogance that was radiating from Sara. No one was sure what would happen next, the Kurans were well within their rights to refuse her challenge and send her on her way, but in doing so they would be releasing a dangerous enemy. Despite their curiosity, no one moved or even dared to take a deep breath. The situation was volatile, there were three agitated pureblood in the same room and any one of them was more than capable of destroying everyone and everything for more than a mile, and both Kaname and his sister had proven in the last few days.

Finally the silence was broken by Kaname, "Sara, we accept your challenge." His voice was level and only thing that betrayed his anger was a slight tension in his jaw, which was detected only by Yuuki.

"Kaname?" she asked, placing her hand on his arm and looking at him fear and worry clouding her eyes. She had seen just a glimpse of what a trained pureblood could do. The idea of a full blown pureblood battle scared her. That had been what had resulted in the death of her parents, why would Kaname willingly enter a battle. She felt panic grab her heart and felt nauseous.

He smiled down at her reassuringly. He could understand her fear, but it was unfounded. He had the blood and power of many purebloods, not just Shizuka running though his veins. That girl didn't stand a chance against him. True, he had thought that before, but this time he was going to be more cautious than he had been with Zero. Besides, Sara had challenged both Yuuki and himself which either meant that she was stronger than he thought or believed that Yuuki would be more of a liability than an aid to him.

"You accept?" Sara asked with a predatory smile.

"Yes, we accept," Kaname repeated. "Right Yuuki?" he looked at her smiling reassuringly.

Yuuki looked at him and fought back tears. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to fight. She didn't want to risk losing him like she had lost so many others and she didn't want to have to kill Sara and she knew that there was no way this would be solved without either their deaths or Sara's. _Please don't make me do this, _she begged mentally.

"Yuuki?" he asked stroking her face. "We accept, right?" He hated seeing the pain in her eyes, the pain that he was forcing her to go through, but they couldn't let Sara leave after what she had just done and they couldn't let the nobles think that Yuuki was weak. She _had_ to fight with him. Seeing both the regret and determination in his eyes she nodded mutely and felt a tear slip down her face at the feeling that she was sealing her own doom.

Sara watched the exchange between the Kuran "siblings" with disdain. She couldn't believe that two people could be that sappy, let alone two pureblood. It made her sure that she had done the right thing in challenging them together. She had originally figured that by fighting them together she could get Yuuki to do something foolish to protect Kaname and make him careless in his anger at her pain. He knew that she had been the reason he had played his hand and destroyed the senate, she had heard him (through a spy of course) tell Ichio that it was because Rido had harmed his sister before Kaname had destroyed them all.

Now however, she realized that Kaname may also do something foolish to protect Yuuki. This was turning to be a better plan than she had originally thought it was, and she got to be queen in the process.

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Kaien watched the exchange between the purebloods and felt anger sear his veins. When he saw Yuuki cry he wanted to charge into the fray. He was trusting Kaname to take care of his daughter and instead he was putting her in more danger and making her cry. While he couldn't blame Kaname for the Rido incident and couldn't fault him for destroying the senate, which lead to the current situation, he could hold him responsible for any harm Yuuki came to from him accepting a challenge that he had every right to refuse and for getting her involved in the fight.

He could also blame Kaname for making him feel powerless in his own home. However much he may have been involved in this world for the long years of his life, this was actually not his world. He held no power here except, perhaps, the power to make requests that Kaname and Yuuki might turn into orders. He hoped they would listen to him because he had a bad feeling that Sara was going to try to have the fight at the academy and he was worried as to the effect that might have on the other inhabitants of it.

He was proved right a moment later when Sara said, "So shall we step outside and settle this?"

Kaname nodded his ascent and gestured for her to lead the way. "Kaname-kun," Kaien heard himself say. The nobles and Sara turned to look at him in disgust that he, a mere human, would address a pureblood so casually. Zero and Yuuki facepalmed in response.

Kaname alone was unphased by the headmaster's address of him. "What can I do for you headmaster?" He asked calmly.

"Please," Kaien said approaching Kaname and Yuuki, "I understand why you have to do this, but please don't do it here. This academy had already been the site of one pureblood battle that resulted in the modification of the memories of most of the students; I would prefer not to put them in that situation again. Is there anywhere else you can do this?"

Kaname thought for a moment, then nodded shortly. "I know somewhere else we can have this battle. That is, if you are willing?" He said addressing Sara with the last part.

"Of course I do not mind a change of venue as long as there will still be witnesses to insure a fair fight," Sara replied with a smile. "Neutral witnesses."

"That will not be a problem," Kaname replied before he closed his eyes and everyone present found themselves in a clearing in the woods. There were murmurs of shock at the sudden change of scenery and a few of the older nobles backed away from him involuntarily. Kaname felt himself smile a little in a type of satisfaction. It was good that they at least fear one of them. Fear could lead to respect, or at least look like respect.

Yuuki felt another stab of panic well within her and she glanced at her father seeing the same worry in his face. "Kaname," she raised herself up as high as she could in an effort to whisper in his ear. Noticing her he leaned down to make it a little easier. "Are you sure that was a good idea, expending that much power. We don't know how strong she is and I'm not going to be very useful, I'm afraid."

He touched her face and smiled warmly at her before he hugged her and whispered in her ear, "That was only a drop of water in a vast ocean as far as my powers are concerned. Even raising the senate building and all was nothing for me. Don't worry." He pulled back and gave her a reassuring kiss on the lips.

"I should object to this new location," Sara said interrupting the two of them. "This place reeks of your power Kaname, but I don't feel that it will matter in the end and this is a nice secluded spot. The council chose well."

Everyone who had ever been to the location of the senate house looked around in shock. There was nothing in that clearing that even resembled the large building that had stood there. No one but Kaname and Sara had even realized that was where they were. That moreso even than the mass teleport solidified their belief that Kaname was a formidable individual.

"So you agree to do battle here?" Kaname asked as casually as if he was asking if they could eat dinner there.

"Yes, I agree," Sara replied, "So shall we begin?"

"Wait," Yuuki said suddenly. Sara smirked, expecting the other woman to attempt to back out of the battle. Her smirk fell as Yuuki continued and asked the question Sara had not wanted to here. "So what are the rules to this? There are rules, right?"

"Of course there are rules," Sara replied. "Only someone with pureblood coursing through their veins may participate, any powers those that may participate may have are welcome to be used, and the battle will be to a definite victory, which can either be an unconditional sureneder—

"No," Kaname cut in, "This will be a battle to the death. That way there is no question of a potential other victor." It would not due to allow her to surrender and be able to come back and stab him in the back later.

"Fine, to the death then," Sara modified with a smile. Things were playing more into her hands by the second. Their deaths would work out better for her in the long run with neither of them alive to re-challenge her later. Kaien, Zero, and Yuuki were less enthusiastic about this new development. Yuuki in particular had been hoping this could be solved in a more peaceful way, but that was impossible now. Kaien was worried that now that the challenge was to the death, Yuuki or Kaname might die. Zero, too, was worried about Yuuki but couldn't deny that he did like the idea that before the sun rose, there would be one less pureblood in the world.

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**Next chapter wil be much more fun and epic showdown between pureblood. Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited or alerted this story so far! As always tell me what you thought if you feel so inclined.**

**Stickdonkeys**


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry about the delay ya'll but to put it bluntly midterms are a bitch. Thankfully they are all over. . . for now. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and can forgive me for making you wait so long.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no claim to.**

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The purebloods stood about ten feet away from each other, glaring slightly into the silence that stretched between them. Then it was broken by Sara's sugary sweet voice saying, "I suggest that you take a few moments to say goodbye to those you care about. This may be your last chance." She examined her fingernails as though the discussions of the potential deaths of two people had no impact on her whatsoever, and it didn't. She didn't see them as people but rather as obstacles in her path to ruling the world.

Kaname scoffed in reply and said, "I hardly think that will be necessary, but I will take this time for my own purposes. I suggest you do the same." When he had finished speaking he turned to face Yuuki, his eyes flashing red briefly as he erected a sound proof barrier between them and Sara.

Yuuki felt the flash of power and looked at her lover in concern. "Kaname, you really shouldn't do that," she said almost desperately. "You know I don't know how to use my powers and—"

"You worry too much," he said gently. "I promise you that everything will be fine, I have more than enough power to handle Sara."

"Still," Yuuki said unconvinced. "What do you want me to do if you get hurt? I . . . I . . ."

"Calm down," he said gripping her shoulders and shaking her gently. "You _have_ to stay calm. The key to fighting is to keep your head clear. Now I would have liked to give you a little better training before anything like this happened—"

"You knew something like this was going to happen?" She demanded her eyes flashing with anger.

He shrugged in reply and said, "I knew it was a possibility. As I was saying, to use your powers all you need to do is think_ precisely_ about what you want to accomplish and release the exact amount of power you need to do it."

"That sounds complicated," she replied. "How am I supposed to do all that _and_ avoid attacks Sara sends at me?"

"In this case, focus more on what you want to do and less on the power needed to do it. It won't matter if you accidently blow a hole through her instead of just the wall behind her," Kaname replied simply. "Though it would probably be best if you let me handle her and just focus on keeping yourself safe. It will take little effort to kill her."

Yuuki shivered a little at his callousness. "You have done this before, haven't you?"

He smiled sadly and for a moment his eyes held all the age that his body refused to show, "More times than I care to remember," he replied. The fact that Kaname had faced many other purebloods and come out the victor reassured Yuuki and gave her some hope that they would be fine. "I think someone else would like to speak to you," Kaname said looking over her shoulder.

She turned and saw the worried eyes of her father looking at her. He smiled sadly and said, "I'm not going to ask you not to fight her, I will just ask that you be careful." He pulled her into a tight hug that she didn't try to fight. She did however try to fight the tears that tried to stream down her face at the thought that this may be the last time she saw him.

"Can I ask you for something, Dad?" she asked when they pulled away.

"Of course, Yuuki, what do you want?" he was surprised at her for thinking she needed to ask permission to ask.

"May I have your hair tie?" she replied with absolute seriousness.

"My hair tie?" he asked confused reaching up to untie it.

"Yes, either that or your sword. I can't fight with my hair loose with it this long," she replied. He handed her the tie and watched for a moment as she tried to contain her hair, reaching forward to assist her when it was apparent that she was going to have difficulty doing it on her own. "Thank you," she said. He kissed her on the forehead and whispered," Go on." She surveyed the crowd on final time, Zero giving her a nod of encouragement that she returned before she stepped up beside Kaname and turned with him to face Sara.

Kaname squeezed her hand gently and sent her a reassuring smile. "Just focus," he said before he dropped he barrier between them and Sara.

"So are we finally ready?" she asked rudely. "I was wondering if you were going to take all day." She had considered attacking before they agreed they were ready to proceed, but she would have no one saying that she had not done things fairly. Even if the way Kaname had disregarded her presence after he erected his little barrier was insulting.

"We are if you are," Kaname replied smoothly.

"Then let the games begin," Sara said smiling cruelly. Her eyes flashed red for a moment and Yuuki turned as she felt something pass behind her. She fought the impulse to ask what that had been since she didn't want to reveal her ignorance yet again. She glanced at Kaname hoping he would find some way to explain to her what Sara had just done.

Kaname had realized the second the magic had left Sara that it was a type of barrier spell, but it took him a moment longer to ascertain the exact nature of it. It was designed to restrict who could pass through it and designed in such a way that it prevented the passage of anyone without pureblood in their veins from entering the circle and also prevent anyone with pureblood from leaving the arena. Though he would never admit it to her, that was a nice bit of magic and he was impressed. He was trying to figure out a way to key Yuuki into the purpose of the barrier when Sara spoke.

"I figured that I would insure that this battle will _truly_ be just between the three of us," she said. "Not that I don't trust your followers sense of self preservation would prevent them from intervening, but this just prevents them from doing something stupid."

"And insures that we all stay and finish the battle as well," Kaname added hoping that Yuuki realized that he was saying the barrier would harm her if she tried to cross it.

He needn't have worried since Sara's next words reinforced his hints. "Of course," Sara replied with a smile. "It is possible that you could survive brief contact with the barrier, but any attempt to cross it will prove fatal."

At those words Kaien and Zero both clenched their fists. They both realized that there was nothing they could do but watch as someone they loved could be killed in front of them. Zero's mind flashed back to the way Rido had manhandled both of them and felt his body begin to try to curl in on itself in an attempt to protect himself from the resurgence of feelings of uselessness. His breathing and heart rate began to speed in result of the feeling of being trapped. Hearing the change, Seiren moved closer to him and grabbed his hand in an attempt to comfort him, despite the other vampires present: reputation be damned.

He turned to face her and she saw such depth of fear and sorrow in his eyes that it broke her heart. "They'll be fine," she said as much to reassure herself as him. He didn't reply since he neither wanted to lie to her nor crush her hope but instead turned back to watch the fight.

Deciding that the preliminary speeches and preparations had gone on long enough, Kaname gathered his energy and sent a weak blast at Sara to test her defenses and judge how quickly this battle could be resolved. As he anticipated she blocked it easily and it passed through the barrier and into the tree behind her, cracking it.

"Is that seriously the best you can do?" She laughed and sent a return attack of her own. Kaname deflected that attack with ease but felt a moment of panic when he realized that Sara's attack had rebounded from the barrier at an angle that would bounce the deflected attack at Yuuki. He was about to teleport in front of her and block the attack or take it if he didn't have time to block it, but suddenly Yuuki's eyes glowed red and the attack stopped about two feet from her and passed over the two of them and moved toward Sara who caught the attack in one hand and tilted her head with a condescending smile.

Anger flowed through Yuuki that Sara would smile like an indulgent parent who had had a toddler throw something at them. She felt the anger sear her veins and then it erupted from her in a controlled arrow that flew right at Sara, who attempted to catch it as she had her own. Sara cried out in pain as the energy passed through her hand and cut along her cheek before destroying the tree that Kaname had damaged.

Sara's eyes widened as she took in the sight of her own blood running down her arm and her face contorted with anger. "So the kitten does have claws after all," she snarled. "Looks like it's time to step up this game." She expected to see fear in the eyes of the other pureblood princess, but was surprised to see cold determination instead.

Wondering what Sara meant, she watched and waited for the next attack. She had pulled off one successful attack but was unsure whether she could do it again. It seemed she only had the ability to work her magic when she gave in to her emotions, but Kaname had said to control her emotions. She was so confused and didn't want to accidently hurt someone other than her target just to use her powers.

Sara stood there for a second appearing to formulate a plan and Kaname took advantage of her apparent distraction to teleport behind her and launch an attack at her back. That was exactly what Sara had wanted. Much like had happened with Rido, the blood Yuuki had drawn was now being turned into a weapon against them. Sara's blood shot out behind her and wrapped around Kaname's waist and lifted him into the air. His hand turned into a claw and he attempted to slice through the blood but the fluid only flowed around the claw and forced it away from the line and into the air. The entire time this had been going on Sara had been forcing him toward the barrier. He pushed his head forward and sent another blast at Sara to try to get her to drop him. She still had her back to him so she didn't see the tell-tale sign of his eyes glowing red and dodged a second too late allowing the attack to graze her shoulder and leave a crater in the dirt in front of her.

She spun in anger, her eyes glowing with the force of her emotion. A string shot from the main branch and wrapped around Kaname's neck, simultaneously forcing his head toward the barrier and restricting his air supply. He brought his hand up in an attempt to pull the rope away from his neck and in the process his arm brushed the barrier and pain flared. He let out a hiss of pain and dropped his arm. He glanced down in an attempt to see the extent of the damage to his arm, but his clothes had remained unharmed, though his sleeve was already soaked with blood. He could also feel his blood flowing freely down his hand and watched as it defied gravity to join Sara's string and strengthen it. He looked at her in shock despite himself.

"Oh," Sara sneered, "Did you not know that I could control the blood of others as well as my own?" She narrowed her eyes and tried to force him closer to the barrier while he tried to erect a barrier around himself to prevent the barrier from touching him. The cords around him sent out tendrels anytime his magic got to close and due to the proximity of the barrier, he couldn't do it. He also couldn't teleport away because he needed to touch the ground to work that particular bit of magic. Despite what he had told Yuuki, and intervention would be a good thing now.

Though he had told her he was capable of handling it and to just protect herself, the smell of Kaname's blood in the air did something to Yuuki. She momentarily forgot the fact that she had pureblood powers and wanted to destroy the other woman who would dare harm her lover, and wanted to do it with her bare hands. Giving into that impulse, she charged across the clearing and grabbed Sara by the hair pulling her head back before punching her in the face.

Whatever retaliation Sara had been expecting, that wasn't it. In her shock she dropped Kaname a few feet and his toes touched the ground allowing him to teleport away from the boundary and break the connection with Sara's cord of blood. For a moment Sara didn't notice that she had lost the connection to Kaname since she was trying to fend off the violent physical attacks by Yuuki, but once she did, she could do nothing about it anyway. She was out of her element. She was appalled. She had been in a few pureblood battles and had never been assaulted physically, magically yes, but no one had ever resorted to fisticuffs and she had not been educated in fighting as a true pureblood princess.

Yuuki conversely had the advantage here, she knew about hand-to-hand and tripped Sara before sitting on her chest and punching her with her right hand while holding her head in place with a fistful of hair in her left. "See," Yuuki called over her shoulder to Kaname, "this is why I wanted to pin my hair up. It provides too much of a . . . Kaname!" She abruptly released Sara, who hit her head on the ground as Yuuki sprinted to Kaname's side.

He was lying on the ground using everything he could think of to get the cord from around his neck in vain. When he had teleported away from the main cord he had assumed that the others would just release, but the opposite had happened. Without the main cord to give them direction, the last command they got was the one they were still following. He felt a small surge of panic. Nothing he tried worked against the cords. He could only think of one thing that would work against them and that was out of his reach at the moment and would be dangerous to use in the current situation. One other thing might work, but with Yuuki so close to Sara and them fighting as they were, he was afraid to attack Sara for fear that Yuuki would get in the path of the attack.

Yuuki dropped to her knees beside Kaname and tried to reach under the ropes, though the marks from his own fingernails on his neck showed her that it would be useless. She needed something that would cut through the blood ropes, but she had no idea what it was, and since he couldn't breathe she couldn't just ask Kaname. She grabbed two handfuls of her own hair and pulled it in frustration as she closed her eyes and tried to think.

"Is that really all you can do you animal?" Sara snarled from behind her.

"Relase him." Yuuki begged turning to face Sara. Feeling a bit of smug satisfaction when she saw the bruise that was blooming momentarially around Sara's eye.

"Now why would I ever do that?" Sara asked. "In case you forgot, my goal is to kill you both. After he's gone, which shouldn't be long, I will eliminate you."

Fear and desperation rose in Yuuki's heart, making her feel sick to her stomach and freezing her veins. Freezing, that was it. She had seen Aidou-senpai use ice before, there should be no reason she couldn't do the same. If she froze the blood then she should be able to break it. She concentrated for a second on the fear and felt a stream of ice flow from her fingers and touch the blood and freeze it. She reached down and tried to break it but couldn't do it. _Damn it,_she thought. _I can't let him die, I need something that can cut this._in the back of her mind she felt a tingling, almost electric presence and realized that like every other morning she had gotten up and strapped Artemis to her thigh. _Maybe the electricity means that I can use it, _she thought, reaching under the edge of her skirt for the weapon only to withdraw her hand as it shocked her.

Sara laughed as Yuuki pulled her hand back and Yuuki turned to face her with murder flashing through her crimson eyes. "You honestly thought—" Sara began only to be cut off by Yuuki.

"Shut the hell up!" Yuuki yelled at her. "What kind of sadistic bitch are you? He's dying and you stand there laughing and smirking. You truly are evil." With the anger now racing though her veins she reached back under her skirt and grabbed Artemis despite the electricity coursing through her hand and willed it to help her. _Please_, she begged. _Help me help him. _ Artemis apparently understood her plea because the electricity stopped and it transformed into a sickle. "What the hell am I going to do with that?" She asked aloud and Artemis transformed into a knife. "Better," she said rolling her eyes and leaning down to cut the string of blood. She felt a sting of remorse when she nicked Kaname in the process but it soon disappeared and was replaced by relief as he drew breath and started coughing.

Sara and the witnesses were shocked. The pureblood princess was using an anti-vampire weapon. There was very little precedence for this, the Kurans were known to have done that in the past but it hadn't happened in generations. Even Zero, who had been restraining Seiren since Kaname had begun choking but had stopped fighting him now, was shocked. He had never heard of a vampire being able to use anti-vampire weapons, other than firearms of course.

Kaname was the only one not even a little astounded by this turn of events, having used Artemis himself in the past. He only wished she had discovered this a little earlier. That had been too close for comfort. He had underestimated Sara, but now it was time to end this. He stood slowly, still panting a little and faced her.

Sara was still focused on Yuuki with a look of utter confusion on her face as Yuuki turned Artemis back into a rod and put it back in its holster. However she felt Kaname begin to collect a massive amount of his power to attack her and quickly drew blood which she sent out in an abrupt attack and pulled Yuuki back against her chest.

"Now, now, Kaname," Sara taunted hiding behind Yuuki's small frame, "You don't want to risk hurting your sister by unleashing that attack, do you?" Yuuki tried to hit her, but Sara sent out more ribbons of blood that wrapped around Yuuki at regular intervals and prevented her from moving. "None of that now," Sara whispered in Yuuki's ear.

Seeing that there was no way to kill Sara without hurting Yuuki, Kaname let the power dissipate. "If you teleport, I will kill her," Sara said coldly.

"Then it seems we are at a bit of an impasse," Kaname replied while his brain searched for ways kill Sara without her killing Yuuki. He didn't see how they could both get out of this alive. He only could think of one way, and there was no way he was going to do that. There were no two ways about it. They were screwed.

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**Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please tell me what you thought, I don't do fight scenes often. And thank you for reading.**

**~Stickdonkeys**


	23. Chapter 23

**Here we all ya'll. Sorry about the wait, I was wrong about midterms being over. This time they actually are! Sadly finals are coming up soon. But I am on break so I may be able to get a second chapter out soon. Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy!**

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The adult noble witnesses to the battle were stunned. They, like Kaname had figured that the battle would be quick. They had figured that Sara was a fool for challenging two other purebloods, even if one was basically no more than an infant. They had been surprised and impressed when Sara had managed to trap Kaname and nearly kill him, but her current behavior left a sour taste in their mouths. It was one thing to defeat enemies fair and square; it was another entirely to use one as a human shield. It was that kind of unscrupulous behavior that made all of them distrust the purebloods, that and the fact that they could wipe everyone else out before breakfast without breaking a sweat if they wanted to.

The younger nobles, however were more than off put, they were disgusted. Ruka was crying silently into Kain's shirt sobbing "I can't watch this," repeatedly. He was patting her on the back and fighting to keep the tension he felt out of his body so she wouldn't think he didn't want her there, which led to him clinching and unclenching his jaw. Aidou had visibly paled and was watching the conflict in front of him in silence. Even he knew that this was not time for him to say or do anything rash. This time it wouldn't help anyone. In fact, this time it might actually cause them harm to break their concentration.

Zero, however, did not share Aidou's sentiments on rash behavior. He believed that now was _precisely _the time to do something rash. Ever since Sara had grabbed Yuuki, Seiren had been restraining Zero and keeping him from trying to enter the battle and dying in the attempt. "Let me go," he hissed at her baring his elongated fangs.

"So you can do what?" she snapped back. "Run into the barrier and get killed? Didn't you hear Kaname-sama and Sara talking earlier? Unless you are a pureblood the barrier will not let you through." Hearing her logic, he stopped fighting her though he did wonder if the barrier would let him through. The words Sara had used made him think it might. It may not be his, but he did have pureblood, and quite a bit of it, flowing in his veins at the moment. If Kuran didn't figure out something soon, he might just have to see if his guess was true. Once he quit struggling with her, she released his arm and watched him cautiously waiting for him to run.

Like Zero, Kaien was barely containing the desire to interfere, though he held no illusions that he might survive the attempt. He had lied to Yuuki earlier when he told her he understood why she had to engage Sara in battle. True he understood why Yuuki couldn't _not_ fight since it had come to that but he didn't understand why it had come to that at all. The purebloods were supposed to be the leaders of the rest of the vampires, and they seemed to be incapable of solving conflicts without violence, if he was honest with himself, that simple fact did not bode well for his idea of peaceful coexistence. But at the moment he was too worried about his daughter to be honest with himself. _She will be fine, _he kept thinking. _She and Kaname know what they are doing and they will both be fine. They have to be. If that Sara creature wins the human race will be gone by the end of the month. Please let everything work out,_ he begged.

On the other side of the barrier, Kaname was hoping for the same thing. He honestly wanted to kick himself. He had been toying with Sara to an extent. He wanted to destroy her with the smallest amount of power that he could get away with using, because though it had been cathartic to destroy the senate in the way he had, it had also been foolish. His raw display of power had lead to their current situation. And while it was true that he could have destroyed Sara quicker than he could have looked at her just by shear brute force, he had deemed it unwise to show the nobles exactly how much power he wielded.

Now he regretted that decision. He should have just done it. What would it have actually hurt for them to see that he could atomize another pureblood without breaking a sweat? In all honesty, it probably would have prevented any other pureblood from getting the notion that it would be a good plan to challenge them. But it was too late for that now. While he could destroy Sara and leave Yuuki unharmed, the second Sara felt him attempt the attack she would kill Yuuki. He had underestimated her and his mistake may kill Yuuki. He felt an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time, helplessness.

Yuuki watched the emotions flit across Kaname's face. First anger, then sorrow, now she wasn't sure what the emotion was that had replaced sorrow, but it made her want to run to him and convince him that everything would be alright. She tried to give into the urge and was painfully reminded of the bonds around her and the fact that everything might not be alright simultaneously. She let out a little snort of frustration.

Sara gave a short laugh at the Yuuki's failed attempt to escape and her frustration with the situation.

Her laugh infuriated Yuuki. "Look," she snapped. "If you are going to kill me just do it already! If not then let me go." Everyone was surprised by her outburst. She couldn't really mean that she _wanted _Sara to kill her, could she.

This made Sara laugh in earnest. "Trust me," she said when she had finished, "I do intended to kill you, but I'm having too much fun watching your brother suffer at the moment to end this all that quickly. How do you think he would react if I was to take your blood in front of him?" she asked opening her mouth and keeping her eyes on Kaname, enjoying the anger burning in his eyes as her fangs neared Yuuki's neck. When she bit Yuuki, she smiled at the way his fists clinched at his sister's cry of pain. She enjoyed watching him suffer and changed her bite on Yuuki to see if she could get her to cry out again. She felt satisfaction flood her veins when she accomplished it. There was something heady about being in complete control and torturing something that in another context could deliver a brutal and bloody death to you. The richness of the blood running across her tongue added to the head rush and alost made her regret that she was going to kill them both. Their blood was quite delicious.

Sara's fangs slicing into Yuuki's neck from behind caused a wave of pain to wash over Yuuki. And not all of the pain was of the physical variety. Within the wave of pain was the memory of the first time she had been bitten, but even in bloodlust, Zero's attack on her neck had not been this violent. He had endeavored to be gentle with her despite his acute hunger. The first time, and every time so far, that Kaname had taken her blood he had treated her as though she would break if he bit her too hard, and he always apologized in advance for any pain he might cause her, though he never actually did. Yuuki felt a cry rise up her throat as Sara changed the angle of the bite without removing her fangs from Yuuki's neck first, simply ripping through anything in her way. She felt her heart clench as she watched the pain and impotent anger flood Kaname's eyes.

Though she tried to focus on thoughts of how to escape or even of Zero and Kaname feeding, her mind rushed to the last time she had been in a position similar to the one she was currently in. She felt panic begin to bubble in her chest and felt phantom hands on her once again. She felt her breathing and heart rate begin to speed and felt the urge to vomit. Not only one demented pureblood, but two had had their hands, and fangs, and other thing, on her and in her. _I can't stand her touching me_, she thought frantically. She felt panic begin to well within her and felt her consciousness disappear under the need to do something to end her contact with Sara.

Kaname watched the scene before him fighting the need to do anything to break the two apart because he realized that to save Yuuki he needed a plan. He wanted to close his eyes against the sight of Sara feeding from his mate, but he refused to take his eyes off Sara, unsure what she would do without supervision. He knew that multiple people had fed from Yuuki, but somehow seeing it happen made it worse. It didn't escape him though that if it was bad for him it had to be worse for her. He saw the panic in her eyes when Sara changed her angle and decided that Sara looked a little distracted and perhaps he could attack her now if he was fast since she had already proven to be weak against physical attacks. He tensed his muscles to spring when suddenly Sara was blown away from Yuuki and into the barrier.

He was as confused as everyone else by the recent turn of event , but rushed forward to catch Yuuki before she hit the ground because the way her legs were bound Sara's grip on her had been the only thing holding her upright. He was unable to catch her because when he got within two feet of her an invisible tendril of power struck him across the face drawing blood and another struck him in the chest knocking him backwards. "Yuuki, it's ok," he said as he stood and tried to approach her again, wondering if she had attacked him assuming he was Sara. Once he reached the same invisible line, she again lashed out at him, this time the attack would have taken off his head if he hadn't blocked it. He took a step back and looked at her face for the first time. Instead of their usual light or even the panic that had been there, her eyes were empty, blank, emotionless. It and her random surges of power worried him but he had other things to deal with first.

Sara pushed herself up from the ground with a groan. She wasn't sure how much damage that brat had caused when she had knocked her into the barrier, but movement requiring the muscles in her back was difficult and she could still feel the blood flowing down her back which meant there was some serious damage. Her hands were also burned where she had been holding the girl. Kaname and his little whore were going to pay for this. "This was amusing for a while, but now I'm just going to kill you both," Sara said her voice edging toward hysteria.

"You are mistaken," Kaname replied turning to face her. "This was never amusing and you will never harm either of us ever again."

"And who's going to stop me?" Sara laughed derisively. "You, or your little whore?"

"She is not a whore!" Kaname yelled in response. "You however are a stain on the name of purebloods everywhere. Hiding in the middle of a battle like the coward you are. It is past time for a little house cleaning."

Sara opened her mouth to reply when she felt something begin to stir within her body. She looked at Kaname in confusion and saw that his eyes were glowing. She was about to ask what he was doing to her when she suddenly exploded. The audience turned their heads and ducked expecting to be pelted with bits of Sara, but as they hit the boundary they disintegrated in puffs of smoke.

Kaname however was not spared from the explosion and was covered from head to toe in bits of blood and flesh. He surveyed his handy work with a blank expression on his face that suggested he was unfazed by the carnage on the ground in front of him. After a moment however he blinked and his eyes became concerned again as he turned back to look at Yuuki. She was lying on the ground exactly where she had fallen after Sara released her. Kaname approached her again but stopped when he felt the tingle of her power on his skin. He took a deep breath and wrapped his own power around him like a shield, hating that he was putting a barrier between the two of them, before he continued to approach her. Her power relentlessly attacked his own, but was unable to break through his shield. When he reached her side, he knelt beside her and reached out to stroke her face only to pull his hand back as her flesh instantly blistered him.

Thinking that her power was perhaps attempting to break the blood bonds on her, he placed his hand under her skirt, being careful not to touch her skin and removed Artemis from its holder. He ignored the shock that went through his hand and willed the weapon to transform into a useful form. It resisted but finally submitted to his will. He cut her bonds and waited for her power to dissipate.

The second Sara had been obliterated Zero had sprinted towards where Yuuki was on the ground. Seiren followed close behind him wanting to check on her master and be there to prevent the two from coming to blows in front of witnesses. But when they got to where the barrier had been Zero felt a slight tingle on his skin but Seiren jumped back with a scream and grabbed her shoulder where blood was beginning to flow.

Zero turned at the smell of her blood and looked around quickly to see who or what had attacked her. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary he took a step towards her only to feel the tingle again, only this time it was more intense. She tried to come towards him again but he held out his hand and stopped her within inches of the barrier. "Sara's barrier is still up," he said simply.

She looked at him with confusion and pain in her eyes, "Then how did you get in?" she asked. The look he gave her in reply clearly said that he would tell her later. She nodded in reply and he smiled slightly before he walked towards Kaname and Yuuki.

"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you Kiryuu," Kaname said abruptly. "That is if you want to live."

"What's going on Kuran?" Zero spat, stopping walking when Kaname spoke.

"Her powers are out of control," Kaname explained. "If she can't get her emotions back under control she will destroy herself and possibly us as well."

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**Thank you for reading my new chapter! Again sorry about the wait. Tell me what you think if you have time. And be sure to enjoy all that turkey!**

**Stickdonkeys**


	24. Chapter 24

**Sorry about the slow update, but on a good note, the semester is over and now you will get much more frequent updates for a while. That said, thank you for being pacient with me while I finished up with finals! I hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

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"Well shit," Zero spat. "What are we going to do?"

"What do you mean 'we'?" Kaname asked cruelly. "There's nothing _you_ can do to help her. There may be nothing _I_ can do to help her."

"You mean you don't know how to fix it?" Zero replied, his tone less haughty than he had intended it to be due to his worry over Yuuki.

"To my knowledge this has only happened a handful of times ever and . . . "Kaname trailed off his mouth refusing to finish voicing what he had seen. What he didn't tell Zero was that he remembered all of the times this had happened before and had been there for three of them, the end results had not been pretty. The ones that were killed had been the lucky ones. Sara's explosion had been a clean, pleasant end by comparison.

"And," Zero demanded ignoring the other man's obvious angst over the subject. "What the hell happened Kuran."

Kaname looked up from Yuuki's face and straight into Zero's violet eyes. Zero flinched at the lack of life in the pureblood's eyes. It was obvious that he had shut down. _This is bad,_ Zero though, _as much as I hate him, he isn't the type to shut down._

When Kaname finally spoke his voice was hollow. "Only one of them was able to be saved, the rest either killed themselves as their powers spiraled out of control or had to be killed to keep them from destroying everything around them."

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Yuuki opened her eyes slowly and had to blink a few times to adjust to the brightness around her. She was in a clearing surrounded by flowers, the sunlight a warm caress on her skin and hair. Something within her said this wasn't right, something about the scene felt wrong. _The sunlight,_ she thought, _it shouldn't feel nice._

No sooner had she reached that conclusion than the sky became overcast and a mist covered the ground then the light disappeared entirely. _I'm sorry,_ she thought, _I was wrong. The light was perfect. Please bring it back._

"Do you really think that will work?" a voice asked with a cruel laugh.

She glanced around her and assumed the voice was just in her imagination since she saw no one. She laughed at her own foolishness at conjuring a voice from nothing. Then she felt a hand grab her shoulder.

She spun abruptly to see who had touched her and almost sobbed when she saw Rido standing there smiling at her. She backed away from him and tripped over her own feed landing on her butt in a heap.

"Why are you here?" she demanded in a voice she wished was stronger than it came out. "You can't be here. I killed you."

He knelt in front of her and looked at her with what almost looked like pity. He reached out slowly and ran his knuckles gently up the side of her face. She knocked his hand away from her and glared at him.

"Don't touch me," she spat.

He leaned back on his heels and laughed at her, "Yeah, because that worked _so_ well for you last time."

"Do not mock me," she snapped shooting to her feet. He stared at her in shock, his mismatched eyes wide at the power in her voice. "I killed you once, I can do it again," She finished.

"Wrong," Rido replied with a sad smile, shaking his head for emphasis. "You destroyed my body, not my soul."

"It's the same thing," Yuuki yelled exasperatedly. "Without a body a soul is irrelevant."

"Wrong again, little kitten," another voice said sadly from the other side of the clearing. Yuuki turned her head and saw Sara standing there with a gentle smile on her face.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Yuuki sighed. "It's bad enough that he haunts my dreams. Are you going to do the same since I killed you too?"

"What do you mean?" Sara asked her blue eyes filled with confusion. "You didn't kill me."

"You survived my attack?" Yuuki asked feeling her throat constrict. "Does that mean you killed Kaname?"

"Why ever would I do that?" Sara asked feeling more confused by the minute. "I have no quarrel with Kaname."

"Then why the hell did you just challenge us to a battle to the death?" Yuuki demanded.

"My dear," Sara said patiently, "I have no idea who you _are_. Why would I challenge you to a fight to the death?"

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Kaien's heart had frozen in his chest from the moment that . . . _woman_ had grabbed Yuuki. He had felt blood lust stir in his veins for the first time in longer than her could remember. Even when he had dealt death to the level E's that had attacked the academy, he had not wanted to kill them. He had only killed them out of necessity. Now, however, he wanted the person who would _dare_ threaten his daughter to die.

_She's lucky that barrier is separating us, _he thought viscously. _If it wasn't, I would rip her limb from limb a small chunk at a time. She would beg for death before I finally let her have it._

A small part of him was worried at the rage he was exhibiting, but as soon as Yuuki cried out in pain it joined the chorus demanding Sara's slow and painful death.

When Kaname caused Sara to explode, Kaien was the only spectator that didn't flinch at the gore. In fact he was somewhat comforted by the red mist in the air. The red coated grass pleased him and he felt a bit of disappointment when the chunks of flesh turned to crystal. He was about to join Zero and Seiren when she stopped and Zero explained that the barrier was still up.

He wondered how it was possible that the magic had not dissipated when its caster had been killed but he had more important things to worry about: like how to help his daughter. He didn't know why she had attacked Kaname and had yet to get up, but he intended to find out. He couldn't hear the words Kaname and Zero were exchanging, but he could tell from their expressions that it wasn't good.

"Kaname, Zero," He asked getting their attention. "What is going on?"

"Yuuki has lost control of her powers," Kaname said simply. "Since we are protected from everyone without pureblood, I don't think it will be an issue, but I am going to try to enter her mind and help her regain control, can you make sure that no one comes near us while I do so?" He waited until they nodded and then added, "I don't think her powers can get out of the barrier, but if they do, just keep backing away from them or they will destroy you. Seiren, make sure the nobles are kept away. I want them to think she was injured. They are not to know the truth." She too nodded and then he closed his eyes and placed his hands on her face despite the way it burned him.

He steadied his breathing and allowed most of his consciousness to leave his body and attempt to enter her mind. She had surprisingly strong shields for someone untrained in psychic skills and it explained why he had been unable to completely bury her memories when he had kept her from Zero's conflict with Shizuka. But in the end he was stronger and soon he was inside her mind.

Her deep thoughts were a swirling miasma of pain, confusion, and frustration. He knew that Rido had hurt her deeply, but he didn't realize that her mind was so broken. He wished that he had been there and could have prevented her from being driven to this state. He needed to find her consciousness within this cloud of suffering and quickly but he had no idea where to start.

As though sensing what he wanted and intended, a tunnel appeared in the cloud and he decided to follow it. He was confused as he felt the tunnel lead out of her mind, but still continued to follow it knowing, somehow, that it was leading him to her.

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"I don't know why you would," Yuuki sighed, "But you just did."

"That's impossible," Sara whispered.

"Not really, I was fighting you until I ended up here," Yuuki replied.

"Yes, it is," Sara said angrily. "I've been dead for about three days. We are in the place pureblood vampires go after they die if they are not ready to be dead. "

"B-but," Yuuki began around the sob rising from her throat. "H-how? I. . . I was just fighting you, or your twin, even though that is impossible. Wait, does . . . does that mean that I . . . am I. . ." She couldn't finish the thought. If she was dead, that meant she . . .

She was so shocked by the possibility that she might be dead that she didn't even shake off Rido when he pulled her against his chest in an attempt to comfort her. She didn't even realize that he had grabbed her.

"But," she looked up at him, tears beginning to pool in her eyes, "I can't be dead."

"Technically anyone can be dead," Rido replied gently, pity in his eyes at her pain. "No one lives forever. Except apparently Kaname of course."

"Kaname," Yuuki breathed. "This will crush him. I can't leave him alone. Not like everyone else always has." She tried to sink to the ground and curl up in a ball, but Rido just pulled her to him and made her sob into his chest. "It's not fair."

"Though I don't know you, you must be young," Sara said gently. "Life is seldom fair. But I don't know why you are allowing him to comfort you. This is all his fault."

Yuuki looked up and seemed to realize for the first time that it was Rido who was holding her as she cried. He however was glaring daggers at Sara. "Why did you have to say that," he growled. "I should—"

"What," Sara cut in, "Kill me again? To quote you a little earlier, 'yeah, because that worked out so well for you last time'."

"Wait," Yuuki said, attempting to push out of Rido's embrace but unable to do so. "You killed her?"

He gave a kind of non-commital shrug in response as if to say "yeah, so?" and just looked down at Yuuki as if confused by her question. "Yes," Sara replied. "He killed me three days ago."

"But why?" Yuuki asked. "I thought you were after my blood. Sara would not have helped to protect me, what good did killing her do for you?"

"Why would killing her have to serve a purpose?" Rido asked in return. "I could have just done it because I wanted to." She sighed and continued to stare at him. "Ok, fine, I killed her because I knew there was a chance that I would not succeed in getting your blood in one try, Kaname is old enough to have more than a few tricks up his sleeve, and killed her so that a portion of my mind could take control of her body in case I failed in my first attempt."

Then his expression melded into one of hurt, "I didn't expect _you _to be the one to kill me though. That was cruel of you."

"I'm cruel," Yuuki scoffed. "Really?" That's the pot calling the kettle black. I'm only cruel when I am because _you _made me that way." Then the full implications of what he had said dawned on her. Without warning she stomped him on the toe and smacked him across the face simultaneously. In his surprise he released her and she fell on her butt again.

"What the hell was that for?" he demanded, leaning over her threateningly. "I didn't do anything this time."

"Bull shit!" Yuuki replied thinking that she may have spent too much time with Zero, she was picking up his foul language. "It's _your _fault that I may be dead! You were the one controlling Sara's body when she attacked us!"

"Yeah, well," he replied like a petulant child. "It's your fault that I'm here so we're even."

She stared at him incredulously before she retorted, "If you hadn't attacked me, you wouldn't be here either, so that's your fault too."

"I'm not having this argument with you," he said pinching the bridge of his nose and turning to walk off.

"Really," she snapped grabbing his arm and turning him around to face her. "Because I think we are."

He grabbed her shoulders and leant down to look in her eyes, "No," he replied slowly, "we are not." She glared back at him defiantly and he started to laugh and pulled her against him, "You know, I really like it when you glare at me like that."

"You're crazy," she replied trying to squirm out of his embrace. "Now let me go."

"I don't think that will happen any time soon," Rido replied nuzzling the top of her head affectionately.

"Let her go, Rido," another male voice replied.

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**So what did you think? I know that the idea of killing Yuuki is not popular, but things will work out. . .probably. And she's not **_**technically**_ **all the way dead yet. Only **_**mostly **_**dead (if you get the reference I will give you a cybercookie). Please review if you have the time and/or inclination.**

**As always thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorite, or placed this story on their alerts so far, **

**Stickdonkeys**


	25. Chapter 25

**See, I have a new chapter for you in some semblance of a timely update! I hope this clears things up a little. If not the next chapter will for sure.**

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Rido sighed in frustration and half-turned to see who had spoken. Yuuki tried to turn as well, but was restrained by Rido's hand on the side of her face. She tried to push away from him again and he just grabbed her small hands in one of his and restrained her. "Ugh," Rido said suddenly. "What are _you _doing here? I don't remember extending you an invitation."

"I was unaware that entrance was invitation only," the voice replied sarcastically.

"Nor was I," Sara replied. "I for one am glad to see you, Kaname."

"I wish I could say the same Sara," Kaname replied coldly. "Sadly, however, your recent behavior has made me being glad to see you an impossibility. In fact, I would very much like it if you ceased to exist.

Sara sighed exasperatedly and rubbed her eyes. "Am I going to have to hash this out with you as well? I've already gone through it with the young woman over there."

"You mean my sister?" Kaname demanded. "Whom you tried to kill a little bit ago?"

"I was unaware that you had a sister," Sara replied. "You didn't tell me you were Kaname's sister." She said looking at Yuuki.

"Funny," Yuuki replied, trying to bite Rido's hand, "It never seemed to come up." With an evil glare she changed her tactic and turned her head suddenly and bit him on the chest. He released her with a cry of shock and shoved her away from him, striking her across the face as he did so.

The blow stung but was not enough to keep her from recovering from her fall and sprinting into Kaname's open arms. He held her to him for a moment and then pulled back and looked at the side of her face where Rido had struck her. There was only a slight red mark, and it was sure to fade shortly, but that small blemish on her skin angered him.

Yuuki watched his expression go from gentle to murderous and then realized something, "Kaname, are you dead too?"

"No," he replied confused. "And neither are you."

"But, they said that this is where pureblood souls go when they are not ready to be dead," Yuuki said in a rush gesturing at Sara and Rido.

"That it is," Kaname replied with a gentle smile, "But it is more than that. It is also where our souls go when we decide to rest for long periods of time. I spent years here. That is why you are here now. Your mind needed to escape from reality."

"So, I'm not dead?" she asked a smile spreading across her face instantly.

"No, my dear girl, you are not dead," he returned her smile and stroked the side of her face warmly.

"Ugh," Rido interrupted them. "I think I'm going to get a cavity from all the sickly sweetness in the air. That or vomit."

"I was enjoying it," Sara replied with a glare. "It is nice to see Kaname happy. I have never seen him smile since his parents died."

"Sara," Kaname said a little surprised. "My parents did not die, they were murdered. By _him._"

Sara gave him a wry smile before she replied, "Then that is something they and I have in common. He killed me and took over my body."

Rido shifted uncomfortably under the angry stares of the three other purebloods. "Now, now," he said, holding his hands in front of him in a placating gesture. "Don't look at me that way. It's not as if all of your hands are clean either. How many people have you killed, Kaname? Or you, Yuuki? Or even you, Sara? You all look at me as though I'm the only one here that has killed. Hell, Kaname and Yuuki both tried to kill me."

"I only tried to kill you because—"Yuuki began only to be cut off by Kaname.

"You owe him no explanation," Kaname told her abruptly. "We were both justified in our actions, unlike him."

"Dear, Kaname," Rido laughed cruelly. "So sure that you are the good guy. I will just remind you that 'good' is a subjective term."

"Even within the realm of subjectivity, you are evil," Sara spat at Rido. "Only in some backward universe would you be considered 'good'."

"I beg to differ," Rido began to say at the same time as Kaname said, "Sara, it will do you no good to try to lecture him. Sociopaths can't learn to control themselves."

"Are you proposing what I think you are?" Sara asked with no emotion.

"Yes," Kaname replied with a feral grin pushing Yuuki gently behind him. "That is exactly what I am proposing."

"Excellent," was Sara's reply as her face turned up into a grin to match Kaname's. Then she and Kaname turned as one and faced Rido. He began backing away from them attempting to think of a way to keep them from destroying his soul.

"Now Sara," Rido said attempting to be intimidating, "I have already killed you once, do you really want to risk the existence of your soul in this ridiculous attempt? I know that you think that teaming up with Kaname will help you to survive this attempt, but he will be next to useless. He cannot kill me."

"That is where you are wrong, Rido," Kaname sneered a smile on his face that Yuuki did not like in the least. "In the world of the living, I owe you and cannot kill you. Here, that restriction does not apply." \/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/

Zero watched Kaname as his face relaxed and his breathing settled, then he turned and walked back through the barrier to where Seiren was waiting. She shifted nervously as he approached her and asked, "Are they going to be alright?"

Zero looked at her and gave her the only answer he could honestly give, "I don't know," he said sadly shaking his head. "Let me look at that shoulder." He reached for her and was frustrated when she turned away slightly.

"It's fine," she said shortly. "I have to go talk to the other nobles before they come over here and realize what is actually going on."

"You can't go over there bleeding," he insisted reaching for her good arm. "They'll eat you alive, literally."

She dodged his hand and gave him a short snort of laughter before she replied, "Let them try." Then she smiled at him slightly and walked towards the nobles.

Hanabusa watched the exchange between Zero and Kaname, and then Zero and Seiren carefully. The presence of emotion in all of their faces caused his blood to freeze in his veins. If it was bad enough to make Kaname talk civilly to Zero in public, and to cause Zero to have an emotion in public, it had to be bad. When Seiren began to approach them, he nudged Kain to get his attention and inclined his head towards the approaching vampire.

When she was close enough to be heard easily by all the witnesses, Seiren spoke. "Yuuki-sama has been injured in the battle, and Kaname-sama requests that you all give them privacy while he tends to his sister's wounds. They will not be holding council tonight so it will do you no good to stay here. He will send you a message when his sister is well enough to entertain visitors," She said simply and moved to rejoin the hunter in watching her master.

"Yuuki-sama," one of the noble women began, "She will be alright, won't she?"

Seiren turned to face the woman with an unfathomable expression on her face. "I'm unsure mother," Seiren replied simply. "But Kaname-sama is taking care of her so the odds are high that she will recover. Now I have a task to return to."

Her mother nodded and walked forward to kiss Seiren on the forehead. "Be careful," she said before she turned and walked into the woods where she disappeared. The other adult nobles soon followed suit leaving the younger nobles alone in the clearing with the headmaster, Zero and the two unconscious purebloods.

"So," Aidou demanded of the silver haired bodyguard, "what is actually going on? I know Yuuki well enough to know that she would have at least tried to reassure the senior nobles that she was fine."

"Not to mention," Kain added, "she would never consciously attack Kaname-sama."

"I'm sorry," Seiren replied. "Kaname-sama ordered me not to tell anyone what was going on."

"What?" Ruka demanded. "We deserve to know what is going on."

"You might ask Zero," Seiren said sympathizing with Ruka and agreeing that they did have the right to know. "He was not told to not tell you what is going on."

Despite their desire to know what was happening, none of the vampires had any desire to approach the volatile hunter, especially when his beloved Yuuki was in danger. Even Aidou, despite his tendency to do dumb things that irritated Kaname, didn't have a death wish. With no one to get the information from, but unwilling to leave they settled themselves onto the grass to wait for Kaname and Yuuki to awake. \/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/

"Come again?" Rido asked realizing that he had been depending on Kaname being useless. If Kaname was able to fight, he didn't stand a chance.

"You heard me," Kaname said with a smirk. "This is where I was before you awoke me. I came here willingly and therefore I owe you nothing in this plain. There is absolutely no reason I cannot destroy you and many reasons I should. In fact, I will."

"Now Kaname, that is not fair," Sara said gently. Rido felt his heart lift, was it possible that she was going to ask him to spare his life? "I too desire vengeance, why should you get all the fun?"

"You are right," Kaname replied. "It was crass of me to exclude you from this. Together then?"

"Of course," Sara nodded her head in ascent. "Would your sister also like to join?"

Yuuki was slightly disgusted with how calmly they were both discussing the murder they were about to commit. It was like they were planning a party. It took her a few moments to realize that they were looking at her expectantly and a couple more to come up with the question they had asked her. "No," she finally replied. "I do not need to join you, I already killed him once, remember?"

"If you are sure," Sara said kindly before she turned to Kaname, "Shall we?" He nodded and they began advancing on Rido.

Rido watched the two enraged purebloods advancing on him and felt his feet begin moving on their own. He knew that if he could back away far enough he might be able to make it to the woods and escape. He may be insane, but he didn't want to die.

Kaname saw the way that Rido's eyes kept darting to the woods and was getting ready for him to make a break for them. When he did, Kaname shot a bolt of power in his direction.

"Ha," Rido gloated over his shoulder as he continued to run, "You missed Kaname, your aim must be going in your old age." No sooner had he finished speaking than he ran headlong into an invisible wall.

"Did I?" Kaname asked raising an eyebrow.

"Nice," Sara commented, glancing at Kaname, "I never would have thought of that."

"I got it from our battle with him in your body," Kaname replied his eyes flashing red as he wrapped the force field around Rido so his only path of escape was towards the two of them. "Would you care for first blood?" He asked Sara.

She nodded and then her crystalline blue eyes flashed ruby and a chunk of Rido's flesh exploded from his body.

"Not bad," Kaname commented. "But watch this." His eyes likewise flashed crimson and Rido's hand, that had involuntarily flown up to grasp the area that had just exploded, disintegrated.

"Please," Rido begged. "You don't really want to kill me. If you kill me here I will truly cease to exist."

"And that is a bad thing?" Kaname demanded. "Do you know that Yuuki still has nightmares about what you did to her? Allowing your continued existence is an insult to her. And should we allow you to pass on, do you deserve to be with the relatives you killed for eternity? I think not. You should never have existed in the first place." With his last words, another chunk of Rido exploded painfully from his body.

"It was my turn," Sara pouted.

"Fine," Kaname replied, "You can have the next two turns. Better?"

Sara nodded and smiled predatorily before her eyes flashed crimson and Rido cried out in pain again.

After the first explosion, Yuuki had turned her back on the scene, fighting the urge to throw up. _I thought they were just going to kill him_ she though desperately. _ I didn't know they were going to torture him before they did it. _'Doesn't he deserve it' another part of her thought. _No one deserves that._ She flinched as he cried out in pain again. _What makes it worse is that they are competing to see who can inflict the most pain_. _It's wrong!_ She covered her ears against the sounds coming from behind her, but she still couldn't block it all.

"Please," Rido begged, blood running from his body in rivers. "Please just let me die. Have mercy!"

Kaname gave a cruel laugh, "Do you honestly think you deserve mercy?" his words were followed by another scream of pain from the man who had caused so much pain to so many. Honestly that scream did not bother Kaname, what bothered him was the memory of Yuuki writhing in pain at the memories of what that man had done to her. That would haunt him forever, and he would make this man suffer for just as long, if he could. Rido deserved everything he was receiving; he had cut short the lives of so many.

At his plea, Yuuki turned to look at the man that had harmed her and instead of the hatred she had felt for so long, she felt pity. He was curled in a ball on the ground, blood matting his hair and covering what was left of his skin. But it was his eyes that killed her, they were filled with such pain and loneliness that she almost understood why he had done the things he did . . . almost. She knew pity was the last emotion she should feel for the man that had killed her parents and raped her, but that was the only emotion she had for the pitiful creature in front of her.

She stood slowly and walked towards Kaname and Sara. Once she was there, she gently laid a hand on Kaname's arm. He turned to look at her and was surprised to see sorrow in her eyes.

"Yuuki," he started, kneeling down to look at her. "What's the matter?"

"It's time to end this Kaname," she replied, gesturing at Rido. Rido looked up at her confused, and expression that was mirrored in Kaname's eyes.

"What do you mean," He began, "We are ending this."

"No," Yuuki replied. "You are punishing him. That is a different thing than ending it."

"But—"

"No," Yuuki said gently, placing her fingers on Kaname's lips to silence him. "please, just end this so we can go home."

"Why?" Rido asked suddenly, his voice hoarse from his screams. "Why?"

"Because," Yuuki replied, looking at him sadly, "No one, not even you, deserves this."

"But," Sara cut in. "He killed me, and your parents, and—"

"I'm well aware of what he did," Yuuki said. "And he has paid for those crimes. He has been alone his entire life and will be alone for eternity, which is punishment enough."

"How can you say that?" Sara demanded. "I'm sure you hate him as much as I do. There is no punishment severe enough for what he has done."

"I don't hate him," Yuuki replied with a sad smile. All of the other purebloods looked at her incredulously. "I did," she clarified, "but now I pity him."

Kaname, seeing that Yuuki was certain it was what she wanted and that Sara was about to argue again, looked to Rido and said, "Good bye." Then he summoned his power and delivered the final blow that he had been unable to deliver all those years ago.

"Thank you," Yuuki said resting her head on his shoulder. "Let's go home, ok?"

He nodded and stood slowly. He then took her hand and led her back to the opening of the tunnel into her mind.

"What about me?" Sara asked suddenly. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You should move on," Kaname said simply. "Your body was destroyed in the battle, and there is no way to return it to its original state."

"So I'm actually dead?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes," he replied. "I'm sorry." Then he and Yuuki disappeared down the tunnel. Yuuki looked back just before it closed and saw Sara sink to the ground crying. She felt her heart break for the other woman, but there was nothing she could do so she kept walking with Kaname.

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**So, I've seen a bunch of people doing this on here and kinda liked the idea so let's give it a try, shall we?**

**Mistressamy: See, not right now, but it is an update :)**

**Yuukivampirefan: I'm sorry, did this help at all? If not, the next chapter will clear everything up, I promise**

**XxIcessxX: Well, here is more for you. I'm glad you appreciated the plot twist :).**

**Cosmic-lover: I'm glad you like it. I'm especially glad that you like the more violent side of Kaien, I wasn't sure how well that would go over. Was that a satisfying enough fight in her mind for you. And you were right that neither of them were actually dead, this time.**

**Green rider girl: I'm glad you love it! And actually as turkeysub picked up it was a reference to the scene in The Princess Bride where Miracle Max is able to bring Wesley back from the dead because he is only "mostly dead." These vampires don't seem to be the undead variety.**

**Turkeysub: Yes! You were the only person to get that! Cyber-chocolate-chocolatechip cookies for you! And thank you for the complement.**

**Sy: Don't worry I didn't kill her. :) and I think your other question got answered.**

**Ok so that is done, if you hate it, tell me and I won't do it again. So tell me what you thought about the current chapter if you have time. As always thank you for reading.**

**Stickdonkeys.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Here's a new one for you. I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing (figured it was about time for another one of these things, though I think at this point we all get it :) )**

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Yuuki and Kaname walked down the tunnel in silence. Neither of them found it comfortable. Yuuki was troubled by what she had just seen Kaname do. She knew that as a pureblood vampire he had killed, she had been there for one very memorable incident. She knew that as an ancient, he had been in wars and killed there as well. She knew that he had murdered the senate.

Yes, she knew all this but even the knowledge that he had the blood of hundreds, if not thousands, of people on his hands did not bother her near as much as what she had just seen him do. Somehow killing people to protect himself or others, or even for revenge was acceptable to her. Torturing someone for revenge was not. She just couldn't get that image or those sounds out of her mind. She had to fight back tears at the memory of it.

Kaname knew exactly what was bothering her, but he had no idea what to say to her. He didn't want to lie to her, so there was no way he could apologize to her. He was not sorry for what he had done to RIdo. He opened his mouth to say something, but he still had no idea what. Finally he said, "Are you not going to talk to me?"

She looked up at him and realized that she had no response to that. "I just don't know what to say," she replied sadly. He reached over and stroked the side of her face and was a little disappointed when she only allowed him to touch her but did not lean into his hand.

"I'm sorry what I did upset you," he finally managed to say around the lump in his throat as he realized that he may have lost her to his own need for revenge. Yuuki heard the unspoken 'But I'm not sorry for what I did,' and turned her head away from him unable to look at him at the moment. She was confused, she thought of him as a good person, but what he had just done, and his lack of remorse for it, were not the actions of a good person.

He reached for her shoulder but then dropped his hand back to his side and said, "Come we should get back to our bodies before anything else happens." He continued to walk down the tunnel; glancing back occasionally to make sure that she was still following him. He hated the way she kept her eyes downcast, staring at his heels rather than risk meeting his eyes. For the first time in his life he was truly clueless as to how to proceed. He was relieved to note, once they entered her mind, that the chaos had calmed significantly. However it had been replaced by sadness and a more controlled confusion and he knew that it was his fault.

"Welcome home," he whispered to her before he began his ascent through the layers of her consciousness, being careful not to read any of the thoughts around him for fear of seeing something he didn't want to. However, had he read them he would have seen the beginnings of understanding beginning to blossom.

She remembered the bloodlust she had felt when Rido had attacked her and Zero and the others. Her own lashing out at Sara and wishing her a slow painful death when she attacked Kaname. She could understand why he had lost control like he did, and after seeing the consequences of losing emotional control, she also understood why he had seemed cold while doing it. She may not have _liked _his behavior, but she could at least _understand_ how he had gotten there and why he had done what he did.

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Zero, Seiren, and Kaien were standing at the edge of the barrier watching closely for any sign of a change in either of the purebloods within. Suddenly the barrier separating the two groups vanished and was replaced by a feeling of oppression and confusion. Seiren dove suddenly for Zero just as he threw himself out of the way of a tendril of power.

Kaien likewise had dodged a spike of power from Yuuki. As it passed him, he was surprised at the strength of it. He had been attacked by Juuri once and she had apologized for using too much force, but that was nothing compared to this. Had it of hit him, he would not have been knocked down, he would have been killed. He jumped back a few feet, hoping to get out of range.

Zero and Seiren moved back a few feet as well and stared intently into the space between them and Yuuki hoping for some sign that she was either going to attack again or cease all together.

"Now I know she's not just injured," Aidou said suddenly. "She's lost control, hasn't she?"

"How did you know that?" Zero demanded suddenly, admitting that it was truth in the same sentence.

"I've read about it," Aidou replied sticking his nose in the air. "But no one in living memory has actually seen it. Perhaps I should take notes!"

Ruka smacked him upside the head. "She is NOT a science experiment, Hanabusa," she spat. "Quite frankly, I'm disgusted that you would even think of that."

"You'd better hope she doesn't tell Kaname-sama," Kain added seriously. "I doubt he would take that well at all."

At their words Aidou visibly paled. "It was only an errant thought," he gasped out, "I swear, I would never have actually done it." Ruka gave a rather unladylike snort in response and turned back to the unconscious purebloods.

"So what happened in the other cases?" the headmaster asked suddenly, desperate for hope. "I asked Zero and he said Kaname just said they hadn't ended well. I don't know which of them was editing, but I need to know the truth. Will you tell me what happened to them?"

"Well," Aidou began uncomfortable, then he shifted into Professor Aidou mode and continued as though giving a lecture and not discussing a friend's fate, "This is a condition that has only been documented three times, and each time had a different outcome. In the first case, the pureblood was in the middle of a town when she caught her lover cheating on her and lost control. She managed to destroy over half of the town before she was killed to prevent the destruction of the rest of the town.

"The second," he continued, "was able to be calmed by his lover and regained control of his powers on his own. The third," he stopped to swallow and his brow furrowed before he continued in a less controlled tone," the third I could only find vague references to. Eventually I found an eyewitness account from the scene. His lover had been killed by another vampire, and his powers surged out of control and ripped him to shreds where he stood. No one else was harmed in that case and many argued that it was just a suicide, but there was an etching. No one would commit suicide that way." Aidou turned a little green before he added, "I couldn't sleep for a week after seeing it."

"So," the headmaster began slowly, "there is only a one in three chance that she will be alright?"

Ruka sensing his anguish at that fact sought to reassure him, "Those are only the cases we know of. Vampire history, like human history, goes back well before written history and this kind of thing would be unlikely to be passed down as other than an admonition among purebloods about the dangers of emotions."

They were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not notice the oppressive feeling of Yuuki's emotions disappear. They also didn't notice Kaname remove his hands from Yuuki's face and wince slightly as his skin moved. He glanced down at them and all he saw was red angry blistered flesh. Strangely enough, the pain made him feel a little better. Somehow he felt that he deserved it.

Yuuki moaned slightly and sat up slowly. She opened her eyes and the first thing she say was Kaname looking at his burned hands, covered from head to toe in dried gore.

"What happened?" She asked crawling to him forgetting her remaining frustration with him as well as his state in light of his pain, "Did _she_. . . I mean, he, I mean . . . ugh! This is confusing! Did that happen because of Sara's body?" He looked at her with unfathomable eyes and shook his head. "Did," she began in a quiet voice, "Did _I_ do all that?"

He nodded slowly, "Or at least the burns. Technically I am responsible for the blood."

"I'm sorry," she cried throwing her arms around him. He was about to reassure her, but they were interrupted.

The headmaster looked up when he heard Yuuki's voice and seeing her sitting up sprinted to her side. He stopped short of hugging her, unsure if she was injured and if he might hurt her. "You're alright!" he breathed.

She turned to look at him, her eyes bright and leapt into his arms, "I'm so happy to see you," she wept. "I thought I would never see you again."

He was taken aback by her reaction and then returned her hug. "Don't ever do that to me again," he whispered in her ear. She tightened her hold on him slightly, then released him as she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Zero standing there uncomfortably. He rubbed his tattoo absentmindedly and finally said, without looking at her, "I'm glad you're alive."

Yuuki smiled and hugged him quickly before releasing him, "I'm glad too," she replied. Suddenly the sound of flesh meeting flesh filled the clearing and everyone turned to face Aidou.

"Why did you all look at me," he yelled holding up his hands. "It wasn't me."

"This time," Ruka added in a whisper as everyone looked for the location of the sound. It had come from where Kaname and the headmaster had been standing.

After Yuuki had released him, Kaien had walked over to Kaname intending to see if he was alright as well and thank him for saving Yuuki. That was not what had ended up happening. Instead, he did something he had never even thought of doing, he struck Kaname. His frustration with what had happened to his daughter needed and outlet and Kaname was the best one to blame for his worry.

Everyone was shocked. Aidou, Kain, and Ruka had never seen anyone strike a pureblood (other than another pureblood of course) and looked to Seiren to see what her reaction was to all of this. Seiren was unsure what to do, her master could easily handle this threat, but it was her job to interfere, but she wasn't supposed to harm humans, so she just stood by Zero who had his arm out slightly, prepared to stop her if he needed to. Zero, however, had to hide his smirk from the others; he had wanted to smack that man for so long. He was just surprised that the headmaster had been the one to do it. He half-heartedly hoped that Kaname would take it poorly; he had heard legends about Kaien's fighting skills but had never gotten to see them in action, and given the way the man generally behaved, thought that they were just that: legends.

Once she figured out what had happened, Yuuki tried to put herself between the two men fearing the exact thing that Zero was anticipating. She hoped that the love they both had for her would prevent them from doing anything stupid. "Headmaster," she chided, "That was uncalled for." He glanced at her incredulously as she glared at him.

Kaname was the only one, other than Kaien, that understood why Kaien had hit him. "No," he gently corrected Yuuki, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I deserved that." He nodded to Kaien and the man visibly deflated. He too had thought, deep inside that Kaname might react badly and the part of him that lusted for blood was prepared for that outcome. With this calm understanding however, his anger and bloodlust faded.

"Kaname-kun," the headmaster began flabbergasted realizing, as if for the first time, that he had just assaulted one of his students, "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have—"

"I assure you," Kaname cut him off gently, "I understand. And I would have probably done worse if I had been in your position. It is fine."

Yuuki looked between the two confused and then turned to Ruka and Seiren. "Is this one of those things that men do that we will never understand?" They both shrugged and looked at the boys expectantly.

"Don't look at me!" Aidou shouted at Ruka, and Kain nodded silently.

"I don't know," Zero said looking away from Seiren blushing, "Fighting never seemed to help me and _him._" He finished with a head bob at Kaname.

"Oh?" Kaname asked, smirking evilly, "I would say that our last little fight worked out much of the tension we had. Wouldn't you?" As he finished he placed an arm around Yuuki's shoulders. She wrinkled her nose at the blood still covering him, but allowed him to do so. Zero snorted in response and turned a deeper shade of red as he remembered what had started their last fight.

"So," Yuuki began slowly, trying to wrap her head around it, "fighting helps men work things out?"

"It helps women too," Kaname said with laughter in his voice. "You don't get to be superior just because you have matching sex chromosomes. Your gender just doesn't usually resort to physical violence; rather you stick to the verbal kind. Which in the hands of the right woman," he finished in an undertone," can actually be harsher than a punch to the stomach." Yuuki laughed and playfully elbowed him in the ribs.

He released her and rubbed his side in mock hurt and tried to tackle her, but she jumped out of his way. Kaien smiled to see the two of them playing together like children, and though he was tired would not have interrupted them for the world. These were the first real smiles he had seen on Yuuki's face in days, he almost could have believed that she was still human if not for the fangs her smiles revealed.

She even tried to pull the others into the game, but the nobles were still too intimidated by Kaname to be willing to join in and as she was trying to recruit Zero, the sun came over the trees and blinded her. She cried out in pain and curled into Kaname's chest to shield her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered with his lips against her hair. Before she could ask what he was sorry for, they were all once again standing in the headmaster's sitting room. It was a sign of just how far they had traveled that the sun was not yet over the horizon here. She gave him a small smile of thanks and turned to the others.

She was about to wish them good night when Aidou, being Aidou, asked, "So what happened, and what was it like?"

"Umm," she stalled, unsure how to answer either question.

"We will discuss this tomorrow," Kaname said firmly. "It has been a trying day, and I am tired. As are all of you, I'm sure." There were grumbles of agreement at his words. (All except for Aidou who mumbled, "I never get to find out anything.")

"You are welcome to stay here again," the headmaster interjected, "the sun is almost up and it is a bit of a walk to the moon dorms."

They nodded their thanks and after wishing Kaname and Yuuki a good night, headed to the rooms that had been given to them the night before. The headmaster did the same, followed soon after by Zero and Seiren. Then only Yuuki and Kaname were left in the room.

"I'm so glad you're ok," he whispered leaning down to kiss her. She backed up and turned her head away. He was slightly stung by her refusal, but much like with Kaien's slap, he understood it. She was still troubled by what he and Sara had done to Rido.

"So," he asked, "you're still angry with me?"

She looked up at him with innocent eyes and replied, "I am still a little confused, yes." She watched his expression fall slightly then added, "But this time it was because you _really _need a bath."

He glanced down at himself and realized that he was still covered in gore. "I suppose this is a little off-putting," he laughed. "You're not completely clean yourself," he added looking her over.

She glanced at herself and realized for the first time that she had dried blood on her as well. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You do make a mess, don't you?" she finally asked.

He laughed at her facial expression. "Come on," he said. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"But," she protested, "You need a shower _a lot_ more than I do. You can go first."

"Oh," he said with another devilish grin, "I wasn't planning on there being a first."

"The chairman only has one shower. So someone has to go first," she said. He raised an eyebrow at her suggestively. "How can . . . Oh," she trailed off with a blush as she realized _exactly _what he meant by no one got to go first.

He took her hand ignoring the slight twinge of pain as he did so and led her upstairs. When they were two doors down from the bathroom she stopped suddenly and whispered, "Kaname, we _can't._"

"Why not?" he asked over his shoulder. "I have seen you naked, you have seen me naked and we will be saving water."

She looked at him a moment, but then realized that he had a point, there was no reason they _couldn't _do it, only reasons they _shouldn't. _Like the fact that they were in her adoptive father's house. But by that logic there were a lot of things she shouldn't have done in the past couple of days.

Realizing he had won, he walked into the bathroom and waited for her to join him before he closed the door. He attempted to lock it, but the handle would not oblige him.

"It's broken," Yuuki said reaching around him to hang a towel on the outside. "That'll keep everyone out." He failed to see how a strip of cotton would keep people from entering, but didn't argue the point. Instead he began to follow Yuuki's lead and take off his blood-sprayed clothing. Yuuki was running cold water in the sink to attempt to soak out the blood stains, but he stopped her.

"It won't help," he said simply. "Even if we can get the color out, the blood itself will never wash out. They will always smell like her blood."

"Maybe if we bleach them after," Yuuki suggested.

"Trust me," Kaname said, "Even bleach cannot remove the smell of pureblood." She turned off the water with a sigh and dropped her clothes onto the counter.

"Good thing I didn't like this outfit," she mumbled. He laughed slightly and turned on the shower. After giving it a moment to get hot, he stepped into the spray and looked expectantly at her. She followed him a moment later and he let her have the water. He watched as the spray revealed her pale flesh under the blood. Oblivious to his observation, she grabbed the shampoo and set about washing her hair, only to realize that she didn't get enough due to the ridiculousness that was now her hair.

"I swear to god, I am going to cut it off," She grumbled as she added more shampoo to the hair piled on her head.

"I wish you wouldn't," Kaname said reaching up to help her wash the blood out of her hair. She jumped a little having almost forgotten that he was even there. "I really like it this way."

"Yeah, well you don't have to deal with it," she quipped halfheartedly. She was really enjoying the feeling of his fingers on her scalp.

"I can if you'd like," he whispered in her ear, making her flesh goosebumb despite the warm water pouring over it. He gently pushed her head under the showerhead and washed the shampoo out. She was a little disconcerted to see the reddish color of the suds as they went down the drain. Even once the suds were gone, he kept massaging her scalp.

"My turn," he said suddenly kissing the side of her neck. She blushed, both at the thoughts she had been having and the fact that she had been hogging the water.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, grabbing the conditioner bottle and dancing around him to let him have the spray and began massaging the conditioner into her hair.

He looked at her confusedly and finally she asked, "What?"

"You aren't going to help me?" he asked with a smile. He fought the urge to laugh as she blinked owlishly and the blushed again. It had never occurred to her to help him.

"I can't reach," she mumbled trying to find a good excuse for not even offering to help.

"That is a simple fix," he replied kneeling in front of her facing her. She took the shampoo from his hands and began attempting to get the blood out of his dark hair. She felt her blush begin to creep down her neck as she realized that this position put her breasts at his eye level. Her embarrassment was compounded when he picked up the washcloth and began washing said portions of her anatomy.

"Wha-" she asked looking down at him. He had his eyes closed against the soap and was washing her strictly by touch.

"There is no reason to waste time," he said simply before he resumed what he had been doing. She closed her eyes at the feeling. His hands coasting across her skin felt amazing, the soap took away even the little bit of friction that was usually present which , while odd, was also exhilarating.

Kaname felt the same way, the slight barrier and lubrication provided by the water and soap took away all the slight imperfections, though the soap slightly stung his still healing hands there was no way he intended to stop. Even he had never imagined that the simple act of showering with her would be this nice.

When the shampoo lather began to get ridiculous, Yuuki gently leaned Kaname back so that his head would go under the water and washed the suds off. As she tried to reach further behind his head to make sure it was all gone, she lost her balance a bit and move one of her hands to his shoulder to steady herself. Shocked at the slightly rough texture and his wince she looked the shoulder and was surprised to see that it was still scabbed over from where Kaname had hit the barrier. She looked at him, hoping he would explain why he had yet to heal only to be shocked again.

The blood and suds had washed off his face, revealing a livid red weld down his right cheek. She reached out as if to touch it, but then pulled her hand back. "What happened here?" she asked stroking the skin beside the mark.

"Your power lashed out at me when I got too close to you," he replied simply. "I know you didn't mean to, so you need not apologize," he cut off her apology before it could even begin.

"Why hasn't it healed yet, or your shoulder?" She demanded.

"Two reasons, both actually enough to slow healing, but together. . ." he replied with a grimace. "The first, you accidently cut me with Artemis. The second is that I am still a bit behind on feedings." He smiled at her apologetically.

"Both are actually my fault," she said sadly kneeling next to him and leaning her head to the side. "I can at least fix one of them here." When it seemed that he was going to refuse she wrapped her arms around him, simultaneously pulling his head towards her neck and pressing herself against him.

Needing her blood, and realizing that she was not going to give up until he took it, Kaname sank his teeth into her neck, trying not to remember that Sara/RIdo had done the same thing not long ago. When she felt him bite her she quit holding him to her and stroked his back gently as he took her blood and the warm water ran down both of them. She also tried to send him her understanding and a plea of forgiveness for hurting him again.

Kaname felt her need to share something with him, so he allowed her to let him see whatever it was. The love and understanding that flowed into him from her warmed him more that the water ever could. He had been so worried that he was going to lose her, and again she surprised him.

Again, he quit feeding too soon for Yuuki's taste. She was going to have to find a way to make him take more blood or they would never make up for all the time he went without. As if sensing her thoughts, Kaname stood to make it more difficult for her to attempt to make him feed again.

And for the second time this shower, Yuuki realized that they were in an awkward position. One that gave her an idea. She glanced up at him, gauging his reaction.

He saw a strange glint in her eyes and for some reason it made heat begin to pool around his hips. "What are you thinking?" he asked after clearing his throat.

"You'll see," she replied with a smirk that he didn't like at all.

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**I know that was an evil place to cut it off, but I did it for two reasons. 1.) This chapter is absolutely massive (by that token so is this fic but eh) and I had to end it somewhere. 2.) I'm out of time before I have to leave for work.**

**That said, I hope you all enjoyed this monster of a chapter. And I know at least one person is going to call me on Kaname being OOC, but you do need to take into account that at this point we are so far from cannon that I don't think it counts. Also, near death experience make people kinda weird for a while. (Anyway that is my justification since it bothered me a bit too).**

**Yuukivampirefan: I just couldn't bring myself to make her like that. It was just too much. Besides, I needed a voice of reason, right? And thank you so much! I try but sometimes I worry that I fall flat. And here is a new update! The goal on those is once again 3 US CT of Fridays.**

**SY: Thank you! And see, brand new chapter**

**Miss Turkey Sub; You're welcome :) You will be a great addition to the fanfic family! Now we just need to get you writing ;) and Thank you again, you need wait no longer.**

**Cosmic-lover: I was going for amusing, thank you for noticing :) And I'm glad you liked it, I was a little worried that it was too violent, even for this story. The Seiren and her mom thing was completely unplanned until it was written, and then I was like "hm, I kinda like that" and just left it. Thank you for the complement, I hope you like this one.**

**As always thank you for reading. Leave me a review if you have the time. Until next time,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	27. Chapter 27

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Once she was sure the others were gone, Seiren turned and pinned Zero against the wall. He looked at her like she was insane. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Getting answers," she replied. "How were you able to get through that barrier?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You have tasted my blood," he finally said. "Did it taste like a Level D's blood should taste?"

Something about hearing him call himself a Level D made her angry, he was more than his social tier. "I don't know," she replied, trying to keep her voice neutral. "I have never tasted it before."

"Yes, you have," he replied with a sad smile. "You have had mine and are the only person to have done so, but you have also killed level E's. Their blood will smell the same as mine should taste . . . we are essentially the same thing." He couldn't meet her eyes as he said the last part.

She felt sadness at the truth in his words, but had to argue it. "You are not the same as them," she insisted. "You have self-control."

"For now," he added staring into her eyes. "Because of what I have done. Now answer the question. Did my blood taste like theirs smells?"

"No," she replied unable to meet his eyes now.

"Who did it taste like?" he demanded, he was going to make her come to the conclusion herself even though she had already accused him of it once.

"Kaname-sama and Yuuki-sama," she answered. "Your blood tasted like theirs smells. But why?"

"Because when Yuuki was still human, I took blood from her numerous times. I would hold off as long as I could," he tried to explain, "but in the end, the thirst was too much for me. The times between the thirst were getting shorter and shorter, I was falling to Level E. The night that Kaname's blood was spilt in the moon dorm . . . that was my fault too." He growled slightly as he had to tell her the next thing, he hated admitting that he owed anyone anything, especially Kuran.

"He and I fought," he continued without looking at her, "and in the end he made me take his blood to keep me from falling to Level E. He did it to save Yuuki from me, after that I was able to control my thirst better, but I still periodically took her blood. When she awoke as a pureblood, her blood that was in me awoke as well.

"That's probably why I was able to beat Kuran," he admitted grudgingly.

"So at the moment," Seiren said slowly, "your blood is approximately half pureblood."

He nodded mutely. "That's why I was able to move both ways through the barrier. Eventually it will fade, and I will begin to slip again."

"I don't think so," she said leaning in and kissing him gently, "I don't intend to let that happen. My blood can probably delay that for a long time."

He shook his head and looked into her eyes. "No matter what we do, nothing will stop it forever. Not since Shizuka's death."

She smiled sadly and pulled him to her. "That same blood flows in my veins," she whispered.

He pulled away from her and knocked her hands away from her. "Don't tease me!" he shouted.

She grabbed his hands and looked directly into his lavender eyes as she said slowly, "Her father was my maternal grandfather. She and I share blood, though my grandmother was only a noble. That is why I am allowed as close to Kaname-sama as I am, I am a quarter pureblood. A Level A noble."

He blinked at her, shook his head and turned to walk off. _How did I not see it,_ he mentally growled. _They have the same hair color. Besides Kuran would not have kept anyone but the best around him. And her reflexes, they are too good even for a vampire._ Even though nothing had changed, somehow everything had changed. He knew they were not the same person, but he felt betrayed that the woman he was beginning to care for was related to the woman that had destroyed his family.

Seiren watched him walk away. She wanted to go after him, but also knew that she probably needed to give him some space. He had not even made it around the corner when she decided to go after him. "Zero, wait," she called softly, knowing that he would hear her.

Out of habit, he stopped walking and waited for her. "What?" he demanded glaring, at her. Once she reached him she had no idea what she was going to say to him. She opened her mouth and then reclosed it and extended her hand to stroke his face. He didn't step away from her and his eyes softened a bit.

"I'm sorry," she said, not entirely sure what she was apologizing for. He smiled slightly and leaned into her hand. Somehow those two little words made him feel better, though he didn't know what she was apologizing for either.

He pulled her against him because it seemed like the thing to do, "I'm sorry too," he whispered into her hair. Also feeling that it was the right thing to do, she leaned her head against his shoulder and felt the movement of the air as he blood pulsed through his veins. She felt thirst begin to build in her throat and leaned towards his neck. He felt her move and raised his head to give her better access. She opened her mouth and prepared to bite him, realizing that this was the first person she had ever bit outside of her immediate family. Just as she was about to sink her teeth into him, she heard a throaty cry from her left.

"That was Kaname-sama," she said turning her head in the direction of the sound and seeing a door with a washcloth over the handle. She started towards the door, intending to open it and check on her master. But she was stopped by Zero's arm around her chest.

"Trust me," he whispered in her ear. "You have _no_ desire to open that door. It leads to the bathroom, and only Yuuki and I know that signal."

"But it wasn't Yuuki-sama's voice I heard," Seiren insisted. "It was Kaname-sama's. But what are they doing in there together?" He raised a silver eyebrow at her and she put two and two together. "Oh," she said, a blush coloring her pale cheeks.

He smiled at her and decided that he liked the color there. Grabbing her hand, he lead her to somewhere less noisy to allow her to take the sustenance she needed.

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Yuuki continued to look up at Kaname from her position knelling in front of him. She knew what she wanted to do, but was unsure how to go about it. Should she touch him first, or just go in for the kill. She had never done this, but she had heard enough of the other girls talking to know what she was _supposed _to do.

Kaname watched the smirk on her face fall slightly to be replaced by indecision. He thought he knew what she was planning but didn't want to ruin the mood by voicing anything, especially if he was wrong. Besides, there was no way she would do _that_. She had all but said as much earlier. On second thought, he had no idea what she was about to do.

Honestly, she didn't really know either. _Well,_ she thought,_ I liked it when he was washing me, maybe he'll like it too._ She turned slightly and picked the soap up from where Kaname had set it on the floor and concentrated on getting a nice lather worked up. She then replaced the soap and stood up to wash Kaname's chest and shoulders.

Whatever he had been expecting her to do, this wasn't it. While what she was doing was undeniably nice, he was infinitely glad that he had not given voice to what he had _though_ she was going to do. He laughed slightly to himself at his slight disappointment when he realized that she was still doing something no one had done in a very long time. She was simply caring for him. With a smile, he decided that for now that was more than enough.

Yuuki saw the smile cross his face and felt herself return it, even though she realized that he couldn't see it with his eyes closed. She continued to wash him, almost absently, as the healing marks on his skin made her realize just how close she had come to losing him today. Suddenly, feeling much more brazen in light of recent events, she ran her nails slowly and gently down his stomach, watching as the muscles twitched in response. His small noise of appreciation was all she needed. She stroked him again and then reached out slowly and ran one finger down his member.

Kaname felt himself moan as she ran her fingers down his stomach. _She has no idea what she is doing to me_, he thought. But when she did it again, he felt himself begin to become aroused. _ I need to control myself,_ he thought fiercely. _She is just helping me get clean she isn't thinking about sex._ Then he felt her hand go somewhere that suggested she was thinking about sex, and very much so. He let out a gasp at her feather light touch in his most intimate place and opened his eyes. There was a lustful look in her eyes that reinforced what her touch had suggested. And he felt himself begin to harden simply from that look.

Keeping eye contact with him, she repeated her earlier caress, noting that the angle of her stroke had changed. Kaname breathed her name and she found that hearing her name spoken in such a way did interesting things to her. Suddenly she realized that she truly loved this man. She had thought it before, but now she understood what that meant. As he grasped her shoulders, she stepped back drawing him into the water and succeeding in getting the soap off of his body. With resolve this time, she knelt in front of him and ran her tongue down him along the same path her fingers had followed moments before. She felt his hands squeeze her shoulders in response and smiled as she repeated the motion.

When she had knelt again, Kaname has wondered if she was trying to get the bar of soap again and was about to tell her that he was clean, physically anyway since his thoughts were anything but. However, when she ran her tongue down him it was everything he could do to keep from putting enough force on her shoulders to bruise. And then she did it again. Suddenly his skin became hypersensitive, he could feel everything around him, the water, her tongue, her warm breath. He felt the aroused growl rise up his throat, only to be replaced by a gasp as she closed her mouth over him. He gave a light hiss of pain as her fangs grazed him, but even that sting felt wonderful since it had been from her.

When he hissed in pain, she pulled back and looked up at him with dismay. "I'm sorry," she gasped out. "I don't know what I'm doing. What did I do wrong?" He smiled and stroked her face.

"Nothing, dear one," he whispered, "you just forgot you have fangs." He watched as she glanced down and her eyes began to glow slightly. She leaned in slowly and lapped the blood from the twin marks. Seemingly without realizing what she was doing, she began sucking trying to get every last drop of blood from the healed cuts. In the process of doing so, she once again took him into her mouth and he knew that between the suction and her massaging him with her tongue, this was not going to last very long. And then she moaned. This was not going to last long at all.

Yuuki felt herself moan at the taste of his blood on her tongue as she accidently nicked him again. _Maybe I was wrong, _she thought._ This is actually rather nice. And he makes such interesting noises._ She continued her ministrations and listened to his breathing patterns and moans to know what he actually liked. Suddenly his hands tangled in her hair and she looked up at him confusion in her eyes. He groaned and gently guided her off of him.

When he was almost to the point of no return, Kaname decided that they needed to stop this stage so that she could be properly rewarded for her actions. When he went to stop her, she looked up at him so innocently that it almost drove him over the edge. Instead he used his hold on her hair to lead her off him and hand on her upper arm to guide her into a standing position. He leaned down and kissed her, cutting off her question and pressed her against the wall of the shower.

The cool shower tiles were a sharp contrast to the hot man pressed against her, but Yuuki found that she liked it. When he placed his hands under her rump, she wrapped her arms and legs around him on instinct. He chuckled and whispered, "Have you done this before, my dear."

She shook her head, troubled that he could think that, but then he entered her and all rational thought was erased for now, lost in the tide of passion and sensation. She squirmed, unable to truly move sandwiched between him and the wall and whimpered in frustration when the movement was not enough. He laughed again and then kissed her on the lips before he began to move. Once he moved, Yuuki knew that this was going to be a fast round. She didn't know why, but something about this position was very stimulating.

Kaname could tell from the way she was moving and breathing that she wasn't going to be able to resist the urge to finish for long, and he was glad because once she was done, he could be as well and it was beginning to become slightly painful to deny himself release. Suddenly she constricted around him and he lost the ability to restrain himself. He felt a cry tear up his throat as his end came crashing forward. He stayed leaning against her with his eyes closed for a moment, then he kissed her on the side of the neck and moved to pull away. He was restrained by her hand on the back of his head.

"Yuuki," he breathed, "there is no way I can go again now."

"But you can feed," she demanded, her voice hard.

"I'm f—"

"Don't you dare say you are 'fine'," she cut him off. "You are not fine. You are surviving, there is a difference. Now we have ten years, and probably more, to make up for so feed." Her tone permitted no argument, but Kaname was strong-willed.

"No," he replied. In that one word was all the stubbornness and strength of millennia.

"Yes," Yuuki commanded. _He may be stubborn, but so am I, _she thought. _And I know one way to make him feed._ She reached up and ran her fingernail down her neck spilling her own blood, wincing slightly at the pain. He tried to pull back, but she held him to her. She flet her skin knit back together and sighed in exasperation. _Damn pureblood healing._ "Now, are you going to feed," she asked, "or do I have to cut myself again. I don't want to because that kinda hurt but I swear I will." She knew that she wasn't playing fair, but at the moment she didn't care.

He realized that there was no way he was going to win against her this time. The only way he could get away from her would be to drop her and he wasn't going to do that. He watched as she raised her hand again, her face scrunched up from what she was planning to do. With a sigh he gave into instinct and licked the blood that was flowing down her collarbone to its source on her neck and then bit her once again.

She hated that she had to force him into anything, but he was still so afraid of hurting her that he was endangering his own health. The mark on his face had still not healed entirely, which meant that he _needed_ more blood than he had willingly taken. She refused to let his fear kill him. Even if that meant she had to make him feed. She hoped that she would not have to do it too many times, she really hated manipulating him, and it almost made her physically ill. Again he pulled back too soon, but she let him go. She didn't have it in her to attempt to make him feed longer, besides the mark on his face was gone now so he had enough, for now.

She leaned her head on his shoulder, fighting tears at what she had just done, "I'm sorry," she whispered, "but you needed more blood."

"You're right," he replied suddenly feeling guilty that he had forced her into a position where she felt she had to do something that made her feel this sad. "We will have to sit down and establish a feeding schedule sometime tomorrow. But for now, let's go to bed."

"So much for 'saving water'," she replied with a sniff, unwrapping her legs from around his hips. He set her down gently and turned off the water. Realizing for the first time that neither of them had towels or clean clothes, Yuuki looked at Kaname, giggling at the sudden mental image of Kaname, the dignified head of the moon dorm, streaking though the headmaster's house and getting caught. "umm," she began fighting back the giggles, "How are we going to get to my room?"

He laughed and took her hand before teleporting them to her room.

"Oh," she laughed, "That is much better than what I was thinking, though not nearly as entertaining." He raised an eyebrow in question, but she just smiled and tossed him a towel before she dried herself with another and climbed into bed and gestured for him to follow.

"You're not going to tell me are you?" he asked sitting beside her. She rolled over and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped her arm around her shoulders and held her too him, thankful that he was still able to do it. Today had been much too close for comfort.

"Maybe tomorrow," she sighed as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. He smiled and kissed the top of her head before he joined her.

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**So what did you think? I decided that if they won't give me a backstory, I will created one. **

**Sy: yep yep :)**

**Mistressamy: I'm glad, I generally find him an underappreciated comic relief in most ff's and felt he deserved more of a role.**

**: Thank you, I'm glad you did! I'm also glad that you are enjoying the story, that is my goal. I didn't know you could do that, that is amazing! And it wasn't the end of the weekend, but I do have a new one for you!**

**Miss TurkeySub: Thank you, and I like that adjective so you don't have to if you don't want to. I'm glad you appreciated the scene, and when the idea hit I thought "oh snap!" as well. :) gotta love anticipation, right? And you are welcome, and eventually the urge to write will strike you, just go with it. I started out just reading as well.**

**XxMoonlitsynxX: I'm glad you enjoy it :)**

**Avenging Neko: first off, your penname is awesome! And thank you, I do consider it an honor to be the only story you have finished. As you can see, I enjoy torturing characters as well, only under duress do their true colors shine thorough. And I thought they're cute too! **

**As always, thank you for reading my newest chapter, leave me a review if you have time. Now I think I'm going to go take a cool shower. **

**Stickdonkeys.**


	28. Chapter 28

**See ya'll I didn't die! Even though I'm willing to bet some of you would like to make that happen. I had a little bit of writer's block, I know ya'll really hate cliffhangers, but they do give me something to work off of for a new chapter. Additionally, school just started up again and I think I many have bitten off more than I can chew (19 upper division hours) but have to chew it if I want to graduate in May. So updates may slow down, but I try to keep them coming. **

**That was a long rant. . . anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter **

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Kaien groaned as he heard a forceful pounding on his door. He felt like he had only just fallen asleep. He rolled over hoping that whoever was knocking would just go away. He was disappointed when he heard the knock repeated more loudly.

"One moment," he muttered forcing himself to get out of bed. He shuffled toward the door and opened it. Standing on the other side of the door was Yagari.

"Still in bed?" Yagari asked raising an eyebrow. "It's already 7:30."

"Only 7:30?" Kaien groaned. "Can this wait a few hours? I only got to bed less than an hour ago."

Yagari laughed and slapped him on the back, "Having a hard time keeping up with the sleep schedule of you hybrid family?"

"There's just been a lot going on the past couple of days," Kaien replied rubbing his eyes. "What do you need?"

"Did you forget that you are still running a school?" Yagari demanded. "Your school was just attacked, the students traumatized and their memory modified, and then you completely disappeared. What kind of a headmaster are you?"

Kaien sighed again. "As I said, I have had a lot of personal issues. I will make sure to make an appearance today. If that is all, I'm going back to bed."

Yagari stood there staring at him, then he put his wrist to the headmaster's forehead.

"What are you doing?" Kaien demanded.

"Checking for a fever," Yagari replied. "Giving me a serious reply without any of your usual theatrics, you must be sick."

Kaien batted away his hand. "I'm capable of being serious," he insisted." I've just seen that there is too much seriousness in this world that I don't need to add to. But today I'm too tired to keep it up."

"So you mean you only act like an idiot?" Yagari asked skepticism on his face.

Kaien felt his temper, which had been loosed from its bonds the night before, attempt to rise to the surface. "So you got me out of bed for the sole purpose of insulting me?" he snapped. "If that's the case, I'm going back to bed." He tried to shut the door but was stopped by Yagari's foot in the door.

"I didn't come to insult you," Yagari replied. "I came because they have called a meeting of the Hunter's Association at noon to discuss recent events and you and Zero are both summoned."

"Why didn't I get this summons in person?" Kaien asked. "As a senior member, I should have been given notice."

"They sent a messenger last night, but no one was here to take the message," Yagari replied.

"So, noon at the main office?" Kaien asked realizing where he had been when they had come. Yagari nodded. "OK, I'm going back to bed for a little while then. I take it you are going to go tell Zero?"

"I suppose so," Yagari said. Without even saying goodbye, he turned around and walked away.

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Seiren followed silently behind the silver-haired hunter and allowed him to lead her to a door a bit further down the hall. She also followed him inside the room and only felt a slight stirring of trepidation as he leaned around her to lock the door. She raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged in response and said, "No interruptions," before he leaned down and tentatively brushed his lips against hers.

_No interruptions_, she thought nervously. _What exactly does he have planned?_

He noticed that she seemed stiff and looked down at her face prepared to apologize for kissing her. He saw the wariness in her eyes and tried to think what he could have done to cause it. Suddenly his eyes went wide as he realized what she thought he had meant when he locked the door. He felt his face fill with blood and knew that he was blushing brightly enough that she could have seen it in the dark even if she hadn't had vampire vision. "I—um—well —I didn't mean it _that _way," he stuttered nervously. "I didn't mean that you and I should—not that I wouldn't want to—not that I _want _to—what I mean is that every time you have tried to take blood someone has interrupted and I don't what to happen this time. I wasn't intending to do—"

She felt herself laughing at his nervous babbling and his blush. He was really kind of cute. But he was getting more flustered by the moment and she felt that it would be cruel to let him continue ramble like he was so she cut him off gently with a kiss. "I understand," she said with a smile as she pulled away. A millisecond later though she was closing her eyes and biting her lip in an effort to control the thirst that his elevated heart rate had caused to rise to the surface out of habit of not giving into the urge to feed on others.

Seeing her repeated hard swallowing and the look of concentration on her face, and knowing the cause from the sheer number of times he had done the same thing, he pulled her to him. "It's ok," he whispered in her ear. "Take what you want." She pulled back slightly to look at his face and make sure he was serious. The sight of her eyes looking through the fringe of her bangs so innocently made him question if he really had meant what he said _that way_ but he tried to keep those emotions from his face as she scrutinized him.

She must have found whatever it was she was looking for, because after a few moments, she nodded and licked her lips in anticipation as she moved back towards his neck. She licked the side of his neck savoring the feeling of the blood pulsing under her tongue and heard his sharp intake of breath at her action. She paused wondering if he really wanted her to do this, but when he didn't tell her to stop, she opened her mouth and placed her fangs against the smooth skin of his neck.

When he felt her fangs touch his neck his muscles tensed convulsively and he had to fight the urge to push her away. He felt a shiver run down him at the conflicting signals his brain was sending to his muscles. Every instinct in his body told him to push her away, but his brain told him that this was right. He felt his chest tighten and his breathing speed simultaneously. _She needs you_ he chided himself. _She isn't trying to hurt you. She isn't Shizuka, she's Seiren, and she needs your blood. _He managed to regain control of his breathing, but it was too late, he felt her pull away.

When Seiren felt his body tense she removed her fangs from his skin and pulled back to look at him again. He was standing completely ridged, his hands balled up into fists at his side and his eyes tightly shut. He seemed to be trembling. _Is he afraid of me,_ she thought suddenly, a wave of sadness washing over her at the idea. "We don't have to do this," she said gently. "I can just run over to the moon dorms and get some blood tablets."

"No," he said through clenched teeth. "I want to do this for you. Besides, those are just a poor substitute." She smiled sadly, even though his words said one thing, his body clearly said that he did not want her to bite him. He was obviously doing this because he thought he owed her for giving him blood, she refused to take his charity.

"You do not have to do this because I gave you blood," she said harshly. "I didn't do it because I expected a return." At her abrupt tone, he opened his eyes and she saw such pain in the violet depths that her anger immediately melted away. She pulled him to her and fought the urge to weep, and urge she hadn't felt in _many_ years, for this damaged creature in front of her. He had been hurt for so long by so many people. "We really don't have to do this now," she said softly, back to the gentle tone she had used before. "You don't have to prove anything to me, or force yourself to do something that causes you this much pain. I promise I will be fine with blood tablets."

"Will they work as well as my blood will?" he demanded, his voice harsh with an emotion that she couldn't name but wasn't anger.

She shrugged against his chest in response. "Probably not, but they will suffice," she finally said knowing that what she said was only a half-truth but not wanting to cause him pain by telling him that there was no way they would work as well since she had grown quite fond of him.

"Then take my blood," he replied, his tone full of determination. When she shook her head, he grabbed her face gently between his hands and stepped back so that he could look her in the face without forcing her neck into an awkward angle. She starred back into his eyes, her silvery eyes hard with determination. He starred back with equal determination. Finally she looked away.

"Why are you so determined to do this?" she asked weakly. "I can tell that you don't want me to bite you, but here you are insisting that I do it. Why?"

He sighed and looked away from her. For a moment she thought he wasn't going to answer, but then he spoke slowly, "I've only ever been bitten twice. Once by Shizuka, and once by Yuuki. Neither of those was exactly pleasant experiences."

Understanding dawned abruptly within her mind. He wanted to let her feed, but his mind kept flying back to the only instances he had to compare it with and neither of those was good so his body reacted instinctively by attempting to pull away. "So," she asked, "what do you want me to do?"

"Just do it," he replied. "Bite me. Ignore my reaction, just do it." She was skeptical. She didn't see how just taking him was going to clear up his fear of being bitten, but if that was what he wanted who was she to argue?

"Come here then," she said nodding her head in ascent to his request. He stepped towards her and she wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him in place. "I will try not to hurt you. I'm sorry if I do," she whispered before she sank her teeth into his neck. His body twitched as her fangs broke his skin, but the pain was short lived lost in the wave of feeling coming from his neck.

As she fed, she was massaging the skin around her bite with her tongue and her lips to increase the blood flow to the bite and it was doing very interesting things to Zero. His skin was reacting to her touch and the feeling of her breath moving across his neck by raising itself in goosebumps. His scalp soon followed as the hands that had been on the back of his neck restraining him moved, one running itself through his hair and the other moving down his back in a caress. He lost himself to the sensations she was causing, forgetting that she was feeding and just feeling.

She felt him relax against her and had to fight the urge to look at his face. She instead continued feeding and allowed herself to get lost in the flavorful bouquet that was his blood. They were both so lost in the feeding that neither of them noticed the quiet knock at the door. They didn't even notice when the knock became a forceful pounding.

Eventually, however Seiren felt full and removed her fangs from his neck and with a final lick to get the last of the blood and a kiss on the disappearing marks pulled back from him. The expression on his face was one of pure bliss and she got to admire it for a few seconds before his brain caught up with the fact that she had quit.

"That was amazing," he breathed, looking at her with admiration.

She smiled warmily and replied, "I was just about to say the same thing to you." She leaned up to kiss him when they were both shocked out of their happy world by another round of pounding on his door and a voice calling, "I know you're in there! If you don't open this door now I swear I will break it down."

"Who is that?" Seiren asked surprised that she hadn't heard it before, since from his tone it was apparent that he had been knocking for quite some time. Zero only sighed and reached around her to open the door again.

"What do you want?" he demanded, going for exasperation but failing miserably due to his blissful state.

Yagari looked at him, taking in his disheveled appearance and neutral, almost happy expression and then asked, "What on earth have you been up to? Never mind," he finished pushing past Zero into the room glancing at his unmade bed as he did so. "What took you so long to answer your door?" As he turned to look at Zero, he noticed Seiren for the first time.

"Oh," he said with a smirk looking from the messy bed to Zero and Seiren's mussed hair, "I see what took you." They both looked at him in confusion, then took in the room and their own appearances and began to blush as they realized what he had thought they were doing.

"We weren't—" Zero began at the same time as Seiren said "We didn't—"

"Look," Yagari cut them both off, "I don't care what you were, or were not doing. It's none of my business especially since we aren't officially on school property. I just came to tell you that the hunter's council has called a meeting at noon today and you are to be there." He started moving towards the door. "I'll let you get back to whatever it is you weren't doing," he finished with a wink as he shut the door behind him.

Seiren immediately buried her face in her hands. "This is so embarrassing," she mumbled. "I can't believe he thought that we were doing _that_."

"Why not?" Zero mumbled back. "We are a man and a woman alone in a locked room with an unmade bed and rumpled hair. I would have probably come to the same conclusion."

Seiren's blush deepened as she realized that what he said was true. _My mother is going to kill me,_ she thought suddenly and then laughed as she realized that her mother would never find out. The hunter would not go to a noble vampire just to nark out a couple of teenagers. "So what do you think the association wants?" she asked trying to change the subject from what they could have been doing.

"I don't know," Zero replied, sobering instantly. "But they have not called a full meeting for as long as I have been a member, so it can't be anything good."

"Are you worried?' she asked sensing the change in his mood.

"Nah," he replied with a shrug. "It wouldn't do any good anyway. Worrying doesn't fix anything."

She didn't have the heart to argue with him. She could tell that he was worried, but it wasn't worth a fight. She also didn't mention the fact that for someone who believed that worrying is useless, he sure had done a lot of it that day. She knew that there were some things that were better left unsaid. She just smiled sadly at him and said, "Well, I'm going to go find somewhere to sleep."

"You don't have a room?" he asked shocked.

She shook her head, her expression wry. "I didn't need one last night so I didn't follow when the headmaster showed the others where they were. I'll probably just sleep in front of Yuuki-sama's room again."

"No you won't!" he replied angrily. "You can sleep here. You take the bed and I'll make a pallet in the floor."

"I can't take your bed! Besides, someone needs to watch out for them while they sleep," she said automatically.

"They can watch out for themselves today. When was the last time you got a good night's rest?" he demanded. She thought about it and realized that it had been a while.

"Probably about the last time you did," she finally said.

"Then it's been too damn long," he said with a snort. "Now don't be stupid, just take the bed."

"But that takes away from your quality of rest," she argued.

"Then what?" he demanded. "You can't sleep in the hall again. I only have one bed and I don't know which of the guest rooms are occupied."

"We could share it," she suggested shyly. "Or not," she backpedalled as he starred at her like she had grown a second head. "It just seemed like the easiest solution. Never mind, forget I said anything," she said turning to leave. He stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"If you are ok with that solution, so am I," he said suddenly. "I promise I won't try anything."

"You'll only do that if you want to lose an arm," she retorted playfully.

"Somehow, I actually believe you mean that," he mumbled. "So which side do you want?"

"Doesn't matter to me," she replied, her mouth going dry as she realized that she was actually going to sleep in the same bed as a man. The fact that she was doing something "bad" almost made it more fun, even if her stomach twisted a little at what the others would think if they found out. _Damn the others,_ she suddenly though savagely. _I'm happy and they can just deal with it. The whole world is about to change, I can do what I like. _With this thought to steady her she walked resolutely toward the bed, crawled in fully clothed and took the spot against the wall.

He walked over a little more cautiously. "Are you sure you don't want me to sleep on the floor?" he asked one more time, knowing instinctively that after sharing blood with her, sharing a bed would change their relationship that much more.

"Just get in the bed," she said with a sigh. "I'm tired." He sat tentatively on the edge of the bed and laid down on his side so close to the edge that had she pushed him, he would have fallen in the floor. She felt a small smile pull up the edges of her mouth as she realized that he was much more nervous about this than she was. "Goodnight Zero," she said the ghost of a laugh in her voice.

"'Night," he replied wondering if this had really been such a good idea.

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**So what did you think? Please leave me a review if you feel so inclined!**

**~Stickdonkeys**


	29. Chapter 29

**Hey all,**

**Figured that I would get another short chapter up for you. There will be a longer one coming out soon, I'm on spring break from school so I should be able to get at least one chapter out next week. I hope you enjoy it.**

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The headmaster awoke a few hours later in a much more reasonable way than before. He still did not feel rested. A few hours of sleep would never be enough, but it would have to work for now. He stretched sadly and got dressed for the meeting with the council. He felt a slight twinge as he dug a new hair tie out of a drawer. He had never gotten his back from Yuuki the day before but it was alright, he had others. And it was a small inconvenience in light of the fact that he almost didn't get her back.

_I came so close to losing her, _he thought feeling his shoulders slump. _But I didn't. And I need to go to the meeting to make sure that doesn't happen. I know that it has something to do with what she and Kaname have done._

He sighed again knowing that it was not going to be a good day. He steeled himself for the difficulties he knew were to come and opened the door, only to nearly get hit in the face by Yagari who had been about to knock on the door.

"So, you're up huh?" Yagari asked leaning against the door frame.

"Yeah," Kaien sighed. "Well, let's get this over with." Yagari gestured with a hand and stepped aside to let Kaien lead him down the hall to Zero's room. He was about to knock on the door when Yagari grabbed the handle, opened the door and walked right in.

Kaien rubbed his eyes with his hand at Yagari's actions. _Why does he __**insist**__ on doing things that he knows will irritate Zero,_ he gripped mentally. _It's almost like he is trying to pick a fight with him._

"I knew it!" Yagari crowed in triumph.

Startled by the sound-and wondering what triggered it-the headmaster looked around the dark-haired man and was shocked to see two distinctly silver heads in Zero's bed. For a moment, he stood there at a loss for words, he had a sneaking suspicion who the other silver head belonged to, but he had no idea that the two of them were on good enough terms to be doing _this_. A sudden memory of Zero's concern for the other vampire the night before flashed through his mind and he wondered why he hadn't seen it before it was too late.

"I am a terrible headmaster," he cried in defeat. "Two of my students were having improper relations in my house and I didn't even see it coming even though the signs were all there."

"Would you two shut up?" Zero asked grouchily from under his blanket. Yagari's victory-cry had caused him to wake up with a rush of adrenaline and he had felt Seiren tense as well in response to his body jerking, her nails going into his chest as she too was awaked.

"What are you yelling about so early, Zero," Seiren mumbled sleepily.

"Me?" he asked looking at her incredulously. "It was them!"

"Them?" she shrieked, opening her eyes for the first time and seeing the headmaster and Yagari in the room looking at them. She immediately felt a blush stain her cheeks and tried to dive under the blankets. _I can't believe they caught me in bed with him. Actually I can't believe they caught me at all. My senses have really dulled being around Zero. And he had been caught too, perhaps two minds really aren't better than one._

Yagari laughed at her actions. "It's a little late for that, girl," he said. "We've already seen you. I figured after this morning you would be a little more cautious."

"You knew that they were together?"' the headmaster demanded. "And you didn't do anything about it? What kind of teacher are you?"

"The off duty kind," Yagari replied. "If we're going to be on time, if you care, we need to get going."

"Let's get this over with," Zero said , unknowingly echoing Kaien's response from earlier. He tried to slide out of the bed and realized that sometime during the night his legs had gotten inextricably tangled with hers. He tried a couple of times to figure out how they were interlocked, and then with a sigh grabbed the blanket to throw it back and just look.

The headmaster and Yagari both opened their mouths to protest, but were silenced by a look from Zero who uncovered both Seiren and himself. The other two men suddenly realized that both of them had crawled into bed fully clothed the night before.

"So," the headmaster began, "You mean that you didn't. . . you literally just slept together?"

"What did you think we did?" Zero demanded sitting up.

"Nothing," Kaien said uncomfortably heading out the door content that Zero was going to get up now. "Let's go."

"Ok," Zero replied. Before he stood to follow Kaien and Yagari he turned to Seiren and kissed her on the forehead. "Try to get a little more sleep," he told her. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

She smiled warmly at him and then whispered, "Be safe," before yawning and closing her eyes to go back to sleep. Zero watched her sleep for a moment and fought the urge to stroke the side of her face. He shook his head as he turned to go. _ When did I become so sentimental_, he thought.

Once he got into the hall, he looked to see which direction the other two men had gone and found Yagari waiting impatiently at the end of the hallway closest to the front door. The headmaster however, stood in front of Yuuki's door with two expressions warring on face.

The same war was also going on in his head. He really wanted to see her before he left, but he didn't want to wake her so early. But to see her without waking her he would have to barge into her room and he didn't want to do that and perhaps frighten her. In the end he decided to just open the door, see her and then go to the meeting.

Zero saw Kaien's hand reach for the handle and felt panic rise in his chest. He knew without seeing into the room that she and Kuran were in the same bed, potentially naked. If the sight of him and Seiren sharing a bed fully clothed upset him that much, then the sight of his daughter and her _brother_ naked in bed together just might kill him. Despite his speed, he was unable to get there before Kaien could open the door. Hearing Kaien sigh next to him, he chanced a glance through the door. He saw Yuuki sleeping with her head on Kaname's bare shoulder, her hand on his chest.

"Aren't they cute?" Kaien asked with a gentle smile on his face. "They both look so peaceful."

"Cute!" Zero yelled. "How can you say they are cute when you were traumatized to catch me and Seiren doing the same thing fully clothed?" In response to his loud tone, Kaname snorted in his sleep and Yuuki moaned slightly and snuggled closer to Kaname.

"Come on," Kaien said patting Zero on the shoulder ignoring his question entirely, "let's go, we're going to be late."


	30. Chapter 30

**Here we go folks, it wasn't during spring break, but it is a new chapter! I hope you enjoy it.**

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The three hunters walked in silence towards the Hunters Association headquarters. For Zero it was an angry silence, still indignant over Kaien's blatant favoritism (as he saw it). Kaien was silent because he was trying to figure out what the meeting was about and think steps ahead of any topic it could be about. Yagari was silent, because that's just the way he is.

Finally the silence was broken by Kaien who accidently asked aloud, "What could this be about?"

"I don't know," Zero snapped. "But it damn well better be good."

"I can actually see you telling them that," Yagari laughed slapping Zero on the back.

Zero glared at him in response. "I just might!" he yelled. "They didn't even give us proper notice."

"Zero," Kaien said gently, "Tread carefully today. I'm not sure what they want and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Like they could," Zero sneered.

Yagari laughed in response to the boy's bravado but Kaien stopped walking and turned to grab him by the shoulders. "I know I'm not your father," he said his voice sincere, "but _please_ listen to me. You are good, but we are going into a room full of people who are also good. They _can _hurt you and despite the fact that you are a hunter, you are also a vampire many of them would kill you with any provocation whatsoever."

Zero slapped Kaien's hands away and turned his head as the cursed word fell from his lips. Even though he knew it was true, it stung to have it thrown in his face that his hold on his birth-right was only tenuous. Despite what he wanted to think there was not a world where he actually fit in. To the vampires he was a Level D, to the hunters he was a vampire, and though the humans didn't know there was anything wrong, he didn't fit in there either.

Kaien felt his hands clench with the desire to reach out to the young man again. He sighed and turned to continue their walk. _I'm sorry Zero_, Kaien thought even though he didn't say it. _Even if I know that they are wrong to think the way they do, it's how they think and if I have to hurt you to protect you, I will. _Once more silence resumed, and this time was no more comfortable than the first. In this new silence, they continued walking to the meeting that none of them actually wanted to go to.

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Yuuki awoke a few hours later with a smile on her face. She had been having a nice dream, but she wasn't sad to see it go since the reality she awoke to was even better. Her smile turned into a full blown grin as she snuggled against Kaname. She opened her eyes as she felt and heard his laughter rumble through his chest.

"Would what you are smiling about so early in the morning have anything to do with what made you laugh last night?" Kaname asked softly in case she was only smiling in her sleep.

She laughed a little in response and at the renewal of the mental image from the night before. "No," she replied, "but that is still the funniest thing I have thought of in a while."

"Now I have to know," he insisted. "What was so funny?"

"You have to promise not to get mad," she replied propping herself up on one arm to look him in the eye. He raised an eyebrow in response and wondered what she could possibly say that she thought would make him mad. He nodded his promise and waited for her to speak. "Well," she began again, "I kinda forgot that you know how to teleport—which you have to teach me how to do, by the way—and was trying to figure out how you and I were going to get back to my room and had the mental image of you streaking through the headmaster's house and getting caught." By the time she finished speaking she was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.

Kaname looked at her, blinked a few times and then joined her in laughter. "Oh, my!" he said pulling her to him. "My dear girl, you have a very active imagination. But even had we resorted to streaking, we would not have been caught."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked him wondering if this was just bravado or if he actually meant what he said.

"Because," he replied with an evil smirk, "I'm a wise and ancient vampire with lots of tricks up my sleeves." She smacked him with the back of her hand and rolled her eyes at his answer.

"So what's the plan today, O wise and ancient vampire?" She asked with a laugh.

He instantly sobered, "Well, you and I need to get our stories straight about what happened to you yesterday. I don't want the nobles to know what actually happened. They just know that you were injured but they don't know anything else. Once we've figured out what we want them to know, we will have to talk to the night class that were there and know the truth and tell them what the official story is. Then we will have to find a place to hold council and tell the rest of the nobles what happened."

"That is a lot of things to do," Yuuki said looking dazed. "Why can't we just tell them the truth? It would be easier to remember."

"Because," he said gently, stroking her face, "our world is one of power. If they feel that you cannot hold that power in your own right, you will never be safe."

"But why does it have to be that way?" she asked her face falling slightly.

"That's just the way it is," he answered.

"But," she insisted, "We're changing the way things are, why can't we change that?"

"If we want to keep power, we cannot try to change that. We will have to have enough power to force others to follow our rules and if they think that either of us is weak, they will rebel at the first chance they get," he explained.

"So that means that I have to manipulate people just to survive?" Yuuki asked feeling her stomach tie itself into knots at the very idea.

"Not manipulate, necessarily," he comforted pulling her to him again, "you just have to control what information you share. You have been doing it for years. Did you ever tell that friend of yours that the night class was made up of vampires?"

"No," she replied indignantly. "That wasn't my secret to tell and would have hurt all of you and her."

"Exactly," he said. "This is the exact same situation. If you tell them everything and are completely honest with them, it will potentially lead to another war between the purebloods, or even the nobles and us. More people will be hurt."

"I don't want that," she replied slowly. "So all I have to do is withhold certain information? I can do that." He smiled at her bright, almost enthusiastic tone and wished that he could share her enthusiasm but he had a feeling that things were not going to go according to plan.

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Kaien stopped short of passing through the gates of the association. He really didn't want to go, but he knew that he needed to know what they were thinking about. Besides, they already thought that he was little more than a traitor to them all for associating so closely with vampires by allowing them to attend his school. They only refused to call him on it because of his legendary reputation as a harbinger of death.

Yagari and Zero walked in as thought they owned the place. Sensing the reluctance in the older man, Yagari turned back around and clapped him on the shoulder. "You're here," he said almost gently, "you may as well go in. You can't protect her from out here." Kaien sighed and patted the other man's hand before he followed him into the association compound.

They rapidly caught up with Zero and were walking beside him when they entered the associations main headquarters. Kaien glanced warily around, he hadn't been in here since he brough Yuuki to look through the archives. That alone made him nervous since he was sure that word had now spread that the girl he had brought was actually a pureblood vampire. And he was traveling with a vampire-hunter and his ex-mentor.

Though he didn't think that any in the association would risk attacking the three of them together, he still wanted to keep an eye on people so that he would have some idea who to watch out for if the three of them got separated. A few of the people milling around waiting for the meeting nodded or gave him a small smile, but most of them looked at him impartially or shot him sidelong glances and whispered to the people around them.

True, they could just be talking about the fact that a couple of legendary hunters had just entered the room since there were people who he didn't recognize in the room, but the way he saw it in his current suspicious state of mind was that they were talking about the fact that his daughter, a pureblood, and her brother had gone on a bloody rampage. In reality it was a mix of the two.

"Well, now that we're _all_ here, let's begin," a deep voice called from the shadows. "I'm sure you all wonder why we called you here today." He paused for effect as he stepped out on the balcony. "We called this meeting because there are two major problems that have arisen in the leadership of two of the worlds we operate in."

His words were greeted with mumbling as the amassed hunters wondered what could have happened that was urgent enough that the association vice-president felt he needed to make an address.

"The first of these things only indirectly affects us, as we have no idea how this will all play out in the end. The vampire council is no more," he declared holding his hands up in an attempt to silence the roar of noise that followed his statement. The general reaction was confusion, why would that have happened and who could have been powerful enough to do it?

He allowed them to talk for a while before cut though their chatter, "We know this because the president of the hunters association was there negotiating with them when it happened. "

"Well, then where is he?" someone demanded.

"Who did it?" called another man next to Kaien asked aloud before nudging him and adding in an undertone, "Too bad it wasn't me."

"The president is dead, he was destroyed along with the senate," he paused again to let the outcry die down again, rolling his eyes at how long this speech was taking. "The culprit," he yelled over them, "is none other than Kaname Kuran."

The headmaster felt as though he had been punched in the stomach, he glanced at Zero and saw panic in his violet eyes. They both knew what the next words were going to be before they were said.

"We will take this murder as what it is," the vice-president continued, "a declaration of war. This uneasy peace is over, vampires and hunters are now in a state of open war." He looked directly at Zero and Kaien as he finished her pronouncement as if daring them to challenge him.

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**Seemed like a good place to cut this one. Sorry for yet another cliff hanger :) but I do have a good reason for this, without them it is hard to get the next chapter started.**

**As always, thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story so far. Ya'll make my day. **

**I hope you enjoyed this new instalment, please leave a review if you have time and feel so inclined.**

**Stickdonkeys**


	31. Chapter 31

**Here we are, another update for you, and this one is a little massive. I hope you enjoy, things are about to get exciting again.**

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"Oh! I've got another idea!" Yuuki chirped. Kaname rubbed his eyes in what was almost frustration. They had been at it for almost an hour and had yet to come up with an explanation that explained everything that had happened _and _didn't make Yuuki look weak. He tried to keep his face impassive and control his voice as he replied. He wasn't frustrated with her, only the situation and he didn't want her to think it was her fault that they were in a situation with no solution.

"What is your idea?" he asked pleased with himself when his words came out mildly interested rather than exasperated. Or so he thought, the look Yuuki gave him before she answered, however, hinted that some of his exasperation may have come through.

"Why don't we tell them that when I blasted her back she broke my neck," Yuuki suggested. "That explains everything! Why I didn't say anything, why I didn't move, and why I lashed out at you. It's perfect."

"Except for the fact that if you had broken your neck you would be dead," he replied not bothering to cover up his exasperation this time.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Rido came back from being almost completely destroyed, we both healed without a scar after being shot and stabbed. Have you ever _seen_ a pureblood die of a broken neck?"

"No," he replied slowly, "Generally when someone wants a vampire, pureblood or not, dead they decapitate them just to be on the safe side rather than stop at neck breaking. "

"So you've never seen it kill a vampire?" She prodded.

"I just said that I hadn't," he sighed.

"So," she continued, "even if it is _not_ true that I could survive breaking my neck, if an ancient has not seen a vampire die of it in millennia then what are the odds that a noble will know that breaking a neck won't kill a pureblood even if it would a normal vampire?"

He opened his mouth to refute her logic, but closed it just a quickly and started to laugh at the sheer deviousness behind her words. It surprised him. This went beyond a little white lie into the realm of master manipulation. Her earlier suggestions had stuck very close to the truth and had not covered any of the things they would have seen. This however was a stroke of genius. It was nowhere near the "little tweaking" that she had wanted to do but it was perfect, in one elegant lie she solved everything.

"Yuuki," he said when he finally stopped laughing long enough to speak, "for someone who didn't want to lie to them at all, your mind is very good at coming up with lies."

Her nose wrinkled up at his comment, she didn't want to be known as a good liar. It went against her nature to deceive and trick people. "So will that work?" she asked a little brusquely because of her distaste for having been the one to come up with a good lie.

"I think it will," Kaname said smiling with appreciation. "Well, we have a long day ahead of us, we should get started." She sighed and moved to get out of bed and find clothes for the meeting. He saw her sigh and grabbed her hand to pull her back against him. "It'll be fine," he whispered in her ear, "I promise. Just stick to the story. They won't ask too many questions. They hate the idea of you being hurt almost as much as I do."

"Are you sure everything is going to go alright?" she asked turning in his arms, her crimson eyes seeking his.

"I'm positive," he replied kissing her gently on the lips and allowing her to get up and start what promised to be another long day.

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Silence filled the hall at the words of the vice-president. Everyone was wondering the same thing, _can he do that?_ People were beginning to glance at their neighbors with that same question in their expressions by no one was willing to give it voice. The reasons for their silence were mixed. The gentler hunters were uncomfortable with the idea of engaging in a genocide because of the death of one man, and realized that the vampires were not going to hold still and allow themselves to be killed, more hunters would die. But they remained silent because they knew that they were a small percentage of the hunter population and were afraid that they would be counted as the enemy if they spoke up.

Some of the more blood-thirsty were thrilled beyond words at the idea of a bloodbath. The way they saw it, they vampires had been given a free pass to multiply and destroy the world for too long. This was just the chance they needed to end them once and for all. They too remained silent rather than voicing this idea because they were afraid to ask for fear that he would change his mind and take away their fun.

Zero was initially with this crowd, he had wanted revenge on all the vampires for so long that the idea of wiping them from the face of the earth made him smile with a bit of grim satisfaction. Suddenly an image of Seiren's gentle smile that morning flashed across his mind, he felt physically sick as he realized that she would be a target. Following right on the tails of that image was the memory of Yuuki crying out in pain. She would be a chief target as a pureblood. _We can't do this_, he thought vehemently. He was about to give voice to his objection when another beat him to it.

"You cannot do this," Kaien insisted. "I will not allow it!" Unlike Zero elation had not been his first emotion, it had been fury. _How dare they even think about wiping out an entire race_ he had thought. _Not just a race but MY FAMILY_. Even thought a more logical part of his mind had told him to keep his mouth shut and leave quietly and refuse to fight, his emotions took control and the words left his mouth before he could stop them.

"Forgive me Kaien Cross," the vice-president said with a mock bow and a sneer, "I was unaware that I needed your permission to declare war." The rest of the hall laughed at his antics, but Kaien felt his jaw clench in anger.

"Actually," he said attempting to rein in his anger, "you do." More shocked glances met his words as people wondered at the arrogance of the old man; he wasn't that powerful, was he?

"I'm afraid you are mistaken," the vice-president replied, anger and a hint of fear beginning to color his words. He had known that the legendary hunter was going to be a problem, but he hadn't anticipated that he would make a scene in public. For the past nearly twenty years, the man had been nothing but docile, the Kaien that stood in front of him now scared him a little. This was not the man he had been expecting, this was the man he had once been, the man who had carved a blood swathe through history.

"I'm not," Kaien replied with a cruel smile, sensing the other man's fear and enjoying the fact that he was the cause of it. "Check you bylaws, you need the approval of the elders to declare war. I am an elder and I was not consulted on the matter. Therefore, your war is not allowed."

"Again you are mistaken," the vice-president answered a little nervously, "The bylaws state that I need eight out of ten elders to give their approval, and they did. We did not consult you because we knew what your answer would be, what with your daughter being what she is. We were convened, a meeting you missed by the way, when we received the news and took our vote then."

Kaien was about to demand to know why he had not been invited to the meeting of the elders when he remembered that he had been. That meeting had been scheduled the day after Rido had attacked the academy. In light of what had happened the meeting had totally slipped his mind. Not that he could have changed things had he been there, but he could have been preparing for this outcome.

"Even if it is authorized, it is wrong," Kaien continued anger rising again as he realized that he had no way to force them to not do this. "I, for one, refuse to participate in the eradication of a culture." There were a few murmurs of agreement in the amassed hunters.

"That is your right," the vice-president replied with a shrug. "But if you choose to take that decision, remember that if you are not with us you are against us."

"I have no objection to that," Kaien replied glaring at the other man, "Why would I want to be associated with an organization capable of such wrong?"

"If that is your decision," the vice president said with a nod. "Zero, despite your unfortunate condition, you are not considered the enemy. Your dear parents, god rest their souls, were good hunters and you have the opportunity for greatness. Will you join us or side with him?"

Zero glanced at the headmaster, an emotion in his violet eyes that Kaien couldn't place before he stepped in front of the older man and looked directly at the vice-president. "My parents," Zero began quietly, "were great hunters. They killed many vampires without remorse, as have I." The vice-president smiled victoriously at Kaien, enjoying the defeat and betrayal in the expression of the other man.

"But," Zero continued, "as you pointed out, and so _generously_ offered to ignore, I am not just a hunter. I am also a vampire. True, for now you are willing to count me with the hunters, but what about later? How long until you all turn on me?" he waited a moment for a reply and when he didn't get one snorted derisively before he said, "You know what, go to hell and take your offer with you." With his final words he stepped back beside Kaien and gave him as small smile in response to Kaien's nod.

"We'll be leaving now and allow you all to continue plotting murder," Kaien said turning his back on the vice-president and heading for the door. Suddenly two men stepped into his path. "Please move," Kaien said, sorrow in his eyes. He knew these men and had watched them grow from children. "I don't want to hurt you,"

Zero had no such objections and just shouldered his way between the men, dragging the headmaster through with him. "Damn it," Zero snapped as more men stepped between them and the door. He glanced around to look for a way around them, and realized that he and the headmaster were trapped in a ring of hunters. "Well, shit!" he said before he got into a fighting stance, prepared to defend himself from the onslaught that was sure to come any second. Only that turned out to be unnecessary.

Kaien grabbed the first man brave enough to enter the clearing between the two groups and used him like a baseball bat against the next. They fell into a crumpled heap and Kaien turned to take on the next opponent. Without a weapon except for his bare hands, he almost singlehandedly carved a path through the crowd to the front door of the association. While Kaien was occupied securing the path forward, Zero was making sure that there was no attack from behind. He was in the middle of a fist fight with a burly hunter when another sucker punched him in the eye. Rather than knock him down like the man had been hoping, it only served to piss Zero off.

Knocking the first man out with an elbow to the back of the neck, Zero turned on the man who had hit him. Seeing the anger burning in the violet depths, he drew a knife from his pocket, hoping the blade would scare the enraged young man since, as an anti-vampire blade, it would not cut him. Zero smiled viciously, knowing that even if the man managed to cut him, it would not prove fatal since no idiot would pull an anti-vampire blade on another hunter since it wouldn't even break the skin.

Zero launched himself into the man, ignoring the shock of pain that followed the blade burring itself in his gut. The other hunter was more shocked by the warm blood rushing over his hand than Zero was, then he remembered that he young man in front of him was a vampire. He felt a laugh rise up his throat at the irony of it all before Zero's fist connected with his chin and he hit the floor unconscious.

Once he was down, Zero fought the urge to kick him in the side. He almost gave into that urge when he grabbed the handle of the knife to pull it out and felt an electric shock run up his arm causing him to release the weapon panting. It was then that he realized that the pain he felt from the wound was not only from the wound but also from the electrical reaction of anti-vampire metal to vampire flesh.

He was about to make another grab for it when he felt a hand reach for his shoulder. He spun prepared to fight, even with the knife still in his flesh. He managed to stop his fist inches from Yagari's sardonic face.

"So reckless," Yagari said with a chuckle, grabbing the knife and removing it, "stupid pupil."

"Thanks," Zero said stiffly. Scanning the crowd for another opponent while backing slowly toward Kaien, who had dispatched the man preventing their exit and was keeping the door clear.

"Sure," Yagari said, stopping a young hunter from attacking him with a simple glare. "Get moving, can't have you slowing us down," he said nudging Zero toward the door and allowing the injured silver-haired man to exit the building while he and Kaien protected their retreat.

Zero ran out the door and scanned the area to make sure that there were no ambushes waiting in the courtyard and then waited for the two older men to join him at the gate before he would make a run for it. Kaien and Yagari backed quickly across the courtyard, knowing that the open area could allow them to be surrounded again. Once they reached Zero, they exited to the street and shut the gate behind them, commandeering a rake from the garden to bar the door.

"Well," Yagari laughed, "You two sure do know how to make a scene."

"That won't hold them for long," Kaien said in reply. "We need to get moving."

They headed off down the street at a brisk walk so as not to attract unwanted attention, but Kaien was disappointed to see that people were still staring. It wouldn't matter, soon they would be behind the walls of the school and then they would be safe. He felt a twinge of guilt as he realized that he was placing his students in danger again, but what other choice did he have?

"That bastard I hit bled on my coat," Yagari said suddenly.

Kaien felt confusion at his statement. They had just fought their way out of the association, and were now enemies of the same association and Yagari was worried about his wardrobe?

"Yeah?" Zero asked. "I think I've got you beat, I'm still bleeding since the bastard I hit stabbed me."

"You're bleeding?" the headmaster asked suddenly. He hadn't noticed that the younger man had been injured. "Let me look at it."

"It's not that big of a deal," Zero said with a sad smile, "I'll heal, I'm a vampire remember."

"We all may as well be now," the headmaster replied matching Zero's smile with a sad one of his own before it fell. "We'd better keep moving, we need to get this news to Kaname and Yuuki."

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**So, what did you think? I was a little disappointed to only get one review on the last chapter, but I will keep writing for you as long as you keep reading and being interested in the story. I'm a little worried that ya'll are starting to get borred with this. **

**Anyway, tell me what you liked/hated/ whatever if you have time. As always thank you to everyone who reads this, favorited or put this story on story alerts. And a special thank you to cosmic-lover. You rock!**

**Till next time,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	32. Chapter 32

**Hi again all, I have a new chapter for you! Sorry about the delay, I just had to get through finals/final papers. I know that after my melodramatic rant after the last chapter you were probably worred that I had dropped it, but I promise I didn't. Enjoy.**

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Now dressed, Kaname and Yuuki headed down to the kitchen since Kaname had the strange desire for a cup of coffee. He didn't usually indulge in the dark, bitter beverage, but for some reason he could tell that he was going to need the added boost the caffeine it contained would give him. Yuuki looked at him oddly as he put the coffee pot on the stove to boil.

He ignored her for a moment but when she continued to stare he decided to ask her what she found so intriguing about him making a pot of coffee. But it was unnecessary, no sooner had he decided to ask her than she said slowly, "I didn't know that you drink coffee."

He sighed slightly and looked at her with a small smile on his face, "I don't usually. But for some reason caffeine sounded good today." He was slightly dismayed to see her blanch slightly at his statement and could have kicked himself. _Great going, _he thought to himself. _She's already nervous and you have to go and make it worse by admitting that you are going to need caffeine to get through the day. Just brilliant._

"Do you think the day is going to be _that_ difficult?" she asked breathlessly. She was already worried about remembering the lie that she was going to have to tell and not caving under the pressure of any questions that they might ask, but she thought that Kaname was unaffected and would be able to take control of the situation if it started to get out of hand . . . but if he was needing coffee that he didn't usually drink to get through it, then they just might be in trouble.

"Relax," he said gently pulling her into his arms. She closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest, comforted by his warm presence. They stood like that for a few moments until the sound of hissing from the stove shocked them out of their peaceful moment. While they had been ignoring it, the coffee had decided to boil over. Kaname sighed and pulled away from Yuuki to move the pot off the stove for a bit to let it stop boiling over, but pulled his hand back with a curse as it the pot burned him.

_I really need to pay better attention to what I am doing,_ he thought glaring at his burnt hand. _Even though there is nothing dangerous here at the moment, we cannot afford another slip-up in front of the nobles. Not so soon after the last one. _

Yuuki deftly reached around him to grab the potholder before she moved the pot off the stove for him. "Kaname," she asked gently taking his wrist above his burnt hand and looking at him carefully, "Are you sure everything is fine? You seem a little off today."

"I'm just a little distracted," he replied stroking her face, "Don't worry so much."

She wrinkled her nose at him and was about to say something semi-rude in response but was cut off by Aidou shuffling into the kitchen like a zombie. "Do I smell coffee?" he mumbled sitting down at the table.

"Nearly," Yuuki replied in what Aidou thought was way too chipper of a tone for that early in the morning, no matter what day it was. "Would you like a cup?"

"Yes," he replied gruffly, aghast that she would need to ask a question with such an obvious answer. "Cream and sugar please."

"No problem," Yuuki chirped moving around the kitchen like a little tornado gathering up mugs, cream and sugar and setting them on the table before Kaname could tell Hanabusa that he should just do it himself. Once she had finished, Yuuki looked at Kaname with a smile on her face that fell slightly in response to his raised eyebrow.

"What?" she asked. "Did I do something wrong? Should I have waited until the coffee was done?"

Kaname smiled indulgently at her question and was about to reply just as Aidou realized what he had just done. _How am I still alive? _ He wondered to himself feeling all the blood drain from his face. _I just asked—no TOLD—the pureblood __**queen**__ of the vampires to give me a cup of coffee with all the fixings. Even if she doesn't care, Kaname is going to kill me._ He closed his eyes and waited for the punishment that he was sure she was going to inflict, and if not her then that Kaname would.

"No, Yuuki-sama," Ruka said from the door. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's just that that idiot at the table _should_ have offered you a cup of coffee. As both a pureblood and a lady he should have been a gentleman and gotten you whatever you needed."

"But that makes no sense," Yuuki protested. "This is my home. If I had made him set everything up, then I would have had to explain where everything is kept and it would have taken twice as long."

"But—" Ruka began only to notice Kaname give an almost imperceptible shake of his head. She just sighed. "That is true," she admitted figuring Kaname wanted to explain it to Yuuki later in private. Even knowing that, she couldn't resist making one final dig at Aidou. "But he's still and idiot" she said with a feral smile.

"Ruka, can't the insults wait a few hours?" Kain asked walking into the room covering a yawn with his hand.

Ruka gave a delicate snort in response before she said, "It is never too early to knock egotistical jerks down a few pegs."

At her words, Aidou forgot his brooding thoughts about the punishment that Kaname was going to inflict on his for not treating Yuuki with the upmost respect and leapt to his feet pointing at Ruka. "I am not an egotistical jerk!" he yelled at her. Ruka rolled her eyes in response and had just decided not to dignify him with a response when Yuuki suddenly started laughing.

What started out as a giggle soon became a full blown convulsive fit of laughter that had her grasping the counter in an effort to stay up-right. All of the other vampires in the room looked at her as though she had lost her mind and Aidou looked like he wanted to get out of the room before she exploded.

"Yuuki?" Kaname said cautiously, stepping towards her wondering what had caused her to go into hysterics.

"I'm sorry," she said catching his tone and the worried look on all their faces, "I didn't mean to startle you all."

Kaname watched as her face fell, knowing that she was remembering what had happened the day before. "It's fine Yuuki," he reassured her. "We just overreacted. What was so amusing?"

She smiled at him and then gave a small laugh before she said, "It was just that Ruka-senpai and Aidou-senpai reminded me so much of you and Zero just then. If the two of you were louder and more outspoken I could see you having the exact same argument."

Kaname and the others looked shocked. It had never occurred to any of them that Kaname would ever behave like Ruka or Aidou. They were further shocked when there was another laugh from the door. They turned and there shock intensified as they saw _Seiren _standing at the door laughing.

"So you agree with me?" Yuuki asked smiling at the other woman's mirth.

"Yes," Seiren managed to gasp out between spasms. "You should have seen them the night that they fought earlier this week. I didn't realize until now who it was that they reminded me of."

Reactions around the room varied. The nobles were shocked that Seiren was speaking, let alone talking that way about Kaname. Yuuki was happy that someone was agreeing with her and that Seiren seemed to be loosening up a bit. She had always thought that the other woman was too uptight. Kaname, while happy that Yuuki was happy, was frustrated at being the butt of the joke.

He allowed them to continue their antics for another couple of seconds, and then he said, "I am glad that you are all here. We need to discuss what happened yesterday."

"Kaname," Yuuki said gently, "at least let me get the coffee passed out before we start on business." In truth she was delaying him because it was a conversation she wasn't really looking forward to having. She was not looking forward to asking the others to lie to their families for her, but she knew that she had to do it and that they would do what she asked: a part of her hated it. She ignored the look that Kaname gave her and busied herself in passing out cups of coffee.

Even though he knew that she was stalling, he allowed her to do it. He could have insisted that the conversation begin while the coffee was distributed, but he let her have her brief reprieve. Besides, it was amusing to see the shocked looks on the nobles' faces as they were handed coffee by a pureblood. Even though most of the nobles and all of the remaining purebloods would agree that no self-respecting pureblood would be seen serving another, and would be embarrassed to see it happen, he wouldn't change her for the world. The things she did, like hand out coffee, where behaviors that showed her care for others was what made her _Yuuki, _and since they didn't put anyone at risk there was no reason for him to ask her to change.

The nobles despite their discomfort, because it would be ruder to refuse her than to take it from her. . . they thought. The entire situation was making them uncomfortable though. Not only was one of their pureblood leaders handing out coffee, the other was willingly giving them information. The fact that Kaname was divulging anything was odder for them than Yuuki since they could discount any of her strange behavior due to her having been raised human. But they couldn't find a logical explanation for Kaname's behavior.

Once everyone had a cup, except Seiren who had no interest in coffee, Yuuki handed Kaname a cup and leaned against the counter next to him. She heaved a sigh and turned to face the nobles. Kaname put an arm around her shoulders and spoke, "Since we are all caffeinated, it is time to discuss business. Unless," he added with a fond smile at Yuuki, "you can think of another reason to delay us."

She smiled back and replied, "Oh I can, but I won't."

He ruffled her hair and continued, "Today we need to discuss what happened yesterday. As Aidou realized, yesterday Yuuki lost control of her powers and almost lost her life. We need this to remain a secret. The official story, and the one that you will tell anyone who asks, is that when she attacked Sara her neck was broken. Does anyone have any questions?"

The nobles fidgeted uncomfortably one question on all their minds but no one brave enough to ask it. Finally Seiren decided that she needed to know.

"Is that possible?" she asked. "Could a pureblood actually survive having their neck broken?"

"We don't know," Yuuki replied. "But Rido did survive being blown to bits, so we think it is possible."

"I, for one, do not volunteer for the experiment," Kaname said. It had the effect that he had wanted since there was a weak chuckle that went through the room at his joke. "While the scenario is not definitively possible, it is a good fit for what the others would have seen. And it is the best fit that we could come up with. It is also easy to remember. This evening we will hold a meeting with your parents and the other nobles to discuss this and other things."

"I have something that you will need to discuss with them," Kaien said from the door.

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**So what did you think? Again sorry for the melodrama at the end of the last chapter. I was just having a rough week. And on that note thank you for the plethora of reviews that ya'll left for the last chapter. **


	33. Chapter 33

**Ha! Another chapter for ya'll. (I'm trying to make up for ignoring you for a month) I hope you enjoy it. **

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Yuuki turned to look at her adoptive father. He was leaning against the door, out of breath, with his hair even more disorderly than was normal. She was about to ask him what happened when the smell of blood hit her nose. She sniffed a second time out of confusion. She knew whose blood it smelled like, but why would he be bleeding. She looked at Kaname in confusion and he shrugged at her wordless question.

"Zero," Seiren breathed. Just as the silver-haired young man came through the door and sat himself at the table like he owned the place. The scent of blood got stronger as he entered the room and confirmed both Kaname and Yuuki's suspicions and Seiren's words.

"What happened?" Seiren asked at the same time Yuuki said "Why are you bleeding?" Both women approached him, but Yuuki broke off when she saw the concern in the other woman's eyes and allowed her to be the one to check his wound. She watched Seiren expertly roll up the other vampire's sleeve to examine the wound.

Seiren fought back a wince as she saw the wound in Zero's arm. It was red and inflamed and deep. The only time that she had seen a wound like that was after Yuuki had been stabbed with the antivampire blade. But how could that have happened? Surely the hunter's association hadn't attacked him, had they? She looked up at him, wordlessly demanding an explanation.

"Got stabbed," he said with a shrug as though it didn't matter in the slightest. "I'll deal with it later," he finished rolling down his sleeve.

"By an anti-vampire weapon?" Seiren asked raising an eyebrow.

"How did you get stabbed by an anti-vampire weapon?" Yuuki blurted out, worry overriding her desire to let them talk to one another.

"That's what I need to talk to you about," Kaien said. "Kaname, Yuuki, I don't know how to tell you this . . . we had a meeting at the Hunter's Association today. And . . . well . . . there is no easy way to say this, so I will just tell you what happened." He paused to talk a breath and then looked Kaname straight in the face and said, "They have declared open war on the vampire race because the President was killed when you destroyed the senate."

There was a moment of silence at his words, which was broken by Yuuki.

"That can't be true," she breathed. "Kaname would never have killed a human, even when he was that mad. Right?" She turned to look at Kaname with the last word. She just knew that it couldn't be true, Kaname could be cruel, but he wasn't a murder, was he? A small, treacherous part whispered that technically he had murdered the senators, but she squashed it down quickly.

Kaname hated the trust that was in her eyes, a trust that he was about to shatter. "Truly," he answered, "I do not know. I don't believe that there were any non-vampire in the senate building at the time of my purge, but I am not positive that there were not. It could be true."

Yuuki opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Kaien. "Whether or not it is true is irrelevant," he said. Kaname looked at him gratefully, though the look on Yuuki's face said that this was far from over. "The hunter's association believes that it is true. Even if they don't really think that Kaname killed the president, they are going to use it as an excuse to start a war that they have wanted for a long time."

"But what if we can prove that he didn't do it?" Yuuki asked desperately. "Would they call off the war?"

"We can't prove that," Kaname said gently. "There is nothing left to use as evidence."

"Besides," Zero added, "They are bloodthirsty. They won't care about the truth. At this point they are hell bent on having a war. If we could prove that Kuran didn't do it, they would just create another excuse to pick a fight. Talking won't solve this; we have to prepare for war."

"Did they say when the war will start?" Kaname asked Kaien.

"It has already begun," Kaien said sorrow and anger in his eyes. "Zero, Yagari and I have already fought the first battle. It will take them a while to get out of the headquarters, but we could be under attack any time."

"Then we must prepare," Kaname said with a nod. "Aidou, Ruka, Kain, I need the three of you to go to the moon dorms and alert the other students. Tell them to get word to their parents and relatives about the war. Make sure that they use the most subtle methods they are capable of. Then I need you to get word to your parents and have them come here this evening, again by subtle methods to prevent them being attacked."

They bowed and left the room at a run, despite the fact that the sun was still in the sky. "Kaien," Kaname continued turning to the older man, "we need to get the human students off campus. Odds are that even if we leave, the war will still start here and we don't want any of them hurt."

"Already taken care of," Kaien replied, not at all perturbed that the younger man was taking charge in this situation. "I sent Yagari to send them home the moment we got back."

"Good," Kaname said with a nod. "Now we need to make some preliminary training plans. None of the vampire that we have available to fight are trained in war, unlike the hunters. Would you be able to train them in basic fighting skills?"

"Of course," Kaien replied.

"I can aid him with that," Seiren added.

Kaname nodded. Seiren helping would be ideal, that woman was lethal in hand to hand. Now he just needed Kyriuu to volunteer to help her and they would have a good basic training unit. But Kaname had no idea how to get him to do it, there was no way he could ask it of the young man.

"Me too," Zero said suddenly, surprising Kaname and pleasing him at the same time.

Again Kaname nodded. "I can train them in how to use their powers in battle," he continued. "And I can help Yuuki with the same while I'm at it. She is good at fighting, but if we can get her trained she will be more valuable as a pureblood than as a human-style fighter."

"No," Yuuki whispered in shock at his words.

"I'm sorry Yuuki," Kaname asked, turning to face his lover who currently had her face buried in her hands, "did you say something?"

"I said, 'no'," she repeated more loudly anger beginning to be her strongest emotion.

"Do you not agree with our battle plan?" Kaien asked confused at her reaction.

"No," she stated tears in her voice. "Because I refuse to fight."

"Yuuki," Kaname began only to be cut off by the upset woman.

"No, Kaname," she cut in, "don't 'Yuuki' me like I'm a child!" her voice broke at the end and tears began to run down her face. "I am not a child. Every day since you reawoke me as a vampire, _something_ has gone wrong! And not just something little, Kaname. Something major." She paused to draw a shaky breath and blink a few tears away. "I understand that you are older than me but, by god, _do not_ treat me like a child because after the last few days I am nowhere near being a child anymore."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know the last week has been a little hard on you," Kaname sighed and tried to pull her against him to attempt to calm her.

"A little!" she shrieked, twisting free from his embrace to attempt to stare him down. "A little? Let's recap, shall we? We'll even forget about earlier this past year when I learned that my best friend is a vampire and the man that I have had a crush on forever is a pureblood vampire who I have no chance in hell with, ok?

"In the last week alone, I have learned that I'm _not _human. And not only am I not human, I'm a freaking _pureblood_! Then I learned that the guy that I liked so much is not just any pureblood; he's my _brother_. And then I learn that, 'oh, by the way, that guy who killed your parents, well . . . he's your uncle. And . . . . yeah, he's not really dead. And, just fyi, he is after your blood and kinda had a thing for your mom, who you look like so . . . yeah._' Not_ that anyone thought to tell me the last bit, I _kinda_ had to figure that out on my own," she continued, glaring at Kaname, who winced at the reminder of what had happened to the woman he loved when he failed to protect her.

He knew that he should try to calm her before she lost control of her emotions, but her eyes weren't glowing and all the glass was still intact so he figured that it was better to let her rant. Kaien and Zero were thinking along the same lines as Kaname—though Zero would never have admitted it had he known—and were trying to figure out how to calm her down, or even if they should.

Seiren was glad that Kaname had sent away the other nobles, but was now wishing that he sent her too. She wasn't sure where this was going, but didn't like listening to a private argument between a couple. Also, she didn't want to be there if Yuuki did lose control again. Though she did agree with the other girl that the past week had been more than a little difficult for her.

Yuuki saw the worry and sorrow in all their eyes and the hint of fear that was also there. A small part of her felt bad for causing them to feel those emotions, but the rest of her was too busy trying to release some of the fear, anger and pent-up frustration she felt to care if she hurt them, so she continued.

"You would think," she sobbed, "that any normal week or even month, would be over now. But _no_ that would be too easy. That same night the _two of you_," she pointed at Kaname and Zero for emphasis and both of them fought the urge to shrink away from the petite brunet in front of them, "decide that you need to have an _epic _duel over me. Not cool, by the way. We _just_ get that settled and then the nobles show up demanding that Kaname and I decide how to lead the vampires, and give us a night to do it!"

She paused to make a noise of disgust before she continued, "But_, heaven forbid_, that be the end of that. No! _Another_ crazy pureblood has to show up and challenge us to a duel! I swear, is insanity in our DNA or something?"

_Yep,_ Zero thought smugly, _insanity does run in the purebloods. It's from all the inbreeding. _But even he knew better than to say that out loud in a room with one pissed off pureblood and one that hated him under the best of circumstances.

Kaname was just glad that she skipped over the part about him being a reawakened ancient. That was one of his few remaining secrets and he really didn't want it to become common knowledge. It might just give them an edge in the coming war. He tensed as she began speaking again, hoping that she would just keep that part to herself.

"And of course," Yuuki yelled, glaring at Kaname again, "_you_ just _had _to accept her duel."

"Now Yuuki," Kaname began in a soothing tone, "You know that I really didn't have a choice. How would it have looked if we refused her? Besides, it wasn't really Sara so refusing to duel her would not have prevented the conflict that followed. It was inevitable and this way we at least got to do it on our terms.

"Our terms?" she scoffed. "How the hell do you figure that we did that on our terms? I was not ready for a battle with another pureblood and you knew it."

Kaname shifted uncomfortably and ran a hand through his hair at her words. She was right. He had known that she was not prepared for a battle with a pureblood. She had been extremely lucky against Rido, but he was foolish to think that her luck would have lasted her through another battle. He truly regretted putting her in that position.

"You're right. I'm sorry" he finally said with a tone in his voice that none of them had ever heard before. It almost sounded like regret. Seiren and Zero's eyes met in mutual shock. They had never heard, or even imagined hearing, a genuine apology from Kaname, let alone the regret currently emanating from Kaname. Kaien and Yuuki were less surprised since they had heard similar things before, but they were both still slightly surprised because neither of them had ever heard it other than in one-on-one situations. It shocked Yuuki enough that her next words were less shrill that the preceding ones had been, and her tone less harsh.

"Kaname, I know that's not how you planned things to go, but they did. I'm not blaming you, but. . . I mean think about it from my perspective. In the last week I have been involved in three battles with purebloods and now I'm supposed to help organize a _war._" She sighed and then continued. "It's just too much. I'm sorry but I can't handle this right now." She continued staring at him after she quit speaking, breathing heavily in an attempt to control her tear and failing miserably.

"I," she sobbed, tears beginning to flow again, "I . . . I just can't do this. There has to be another way."

Kaname reached for her again and, this time she allowed herself to be pulled into his embrace and began sobbing into his chest. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I didn't think about how hard this would be for you. But I can't see another way for this situation to end."

"But there has to be," she said desperately turning to face Zero.

"Yuuki," Zero said firmly. "There is _no_ other solution."

"But if I try to negotiate with them," she said. "If I went with no weapons and under a flag of truce—"

"They will cut you down where you stand," Zero replied flatly grabbing her arm and shaking her slightly. Kaname had to resist the urge to attack Zero, but he knew that Zero was doing something that needed to be done, whether or not he liked it.

"They have declared _open_ _war_. Do you understand what that means?" Zero asked, shaking her again when she scrunched up her nose and looked away from him. " _It means_ that they are going to kill _any _vampire that they come across. Women, children, infants, non-combatant pacifists, they DON'T CARE! They are out to kill all vampires, just because you don't want to fight doesn't mean that they won't fight you."

"Zero. . . I . . . I can't kill again," Yuuki cried, imploring him to understand with her eyes.

He hated the look in her eyes, so desperate and helpless, but he kept his face blank and said something that he knew would hurt her, but that needed to be said. "How many of us will you allow to die to prevent killing?"

"That won't happen," she replied slowly, her face showing disbelief.

"It could," he said simply. "Any of us in this room would try to protect you, and would even give our lives to do it. That task would be much easier if you are willing to at least defend yourself, even if you can't bring yourself to attack. Just that in mind, as well as the fact that the hunters will not be using the same strategy and that it is much easier to defeat an enemy before they have you cornered."

Her mind instantly flashed back to the fight with Rido and her initial decision not to attack him until she was attacked first and how that had ended for her. _Zero's_ _right,_ she thought, _as much as I hate the idea of killing another person, there are times when it is necessary and this is one of them._

"You're right," she said aloud, closing her eyes, "it would be foolish and selfish of me to refuse to fight. I will do what I must."

"Yuuki," Kaien began, "you don't have to—"

"Yes, I do," she cut him off. "Zero is right. If I refuse to fight, I will endanger all of you, and I couldn't live with myself if one of you died protecting me. Kaname, I need you to teach me how to fight."

He nodded his assent and looked her over critically. All trace of tears were now gone, save for the red still rimming her eyes. The set of her jaw told him that her decision was final and that nothing would change her mind, which was good because, though it pained him to admit it, Kiryuu was right. Keeping Yuuki safe would be easier if she was willing to fight. And the boy had been willing to use tactics that Kaname would never have employed to convince her.

"We can start as soon as we finalize the initial battle plans," he assured her. "Shall we continue planning?"

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**Well, what did you think? Drop me a review using the pretty new button if you have time or an inclination. As always thank you for reading my newest chapter and thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter. Ya'll rock!**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	34. Chapter 34

**Here's a new chapter for ya'll. And what the heck, I might as well do one of these**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight and make no claim to. **

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Finalizing the initial plans for battle preparations only took a short amount of time. Despite how well things had fallen into place so far on their side, for the plan to work they were relying on one thing-time-and there was no guarantee that the hunter's association would allow them to have it. Kaname already had a contingency plan in the likely event that the first plan fell through, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that since it would take a lot of energy even though it would buy them some time.

_Mabye she was right that all those random shows of power yesterday were a bad long-term plan,_ Kaname thought with a slight grimace. _If I had known that this was going to happen I would not have done that. Oh well, I can't change it now. _ Even though he knew that he couldn't do it, he wanted to have a rant similar to Yuuki's. Minus that one extremely traumatic event, he had had the same week Yuuki had. He had been there with her for most of it, and had felt more stress in the past week than he had in centuries. Constantly worrying if that breath was going to be her last, wondering if she was going to be the same happy person once she got through it all, if she did; it had been hard on him too. But not as hard as it had apparently been for her. He had centuries of experience to help him deal with the stress.

But even his experience couldn't help him deal with the stress that came from the realization that no matter how many plans he created, how many variations on those plans there were, it would never be enough. Even though he would never have admitted it out loud, Kaname had the desire to control things around him and this past week had taken every carefully laid plan he had and decimated them.

He had originally planned to change Yuuki and protect her while Zero destroyed Rido. He hadn't intended for her to even come face-to-face with him, let alone fight him. But that hadn't been how it happened. He also hadn't originally intended to destroy the senate, but that's how it happened. Uncharacteristically, he hadn't really thought about the repercussions of his actions before he killed them, but that actually worked out fine without planning.

But once he and Yuuki did have a plan for how to handle the newest revelations and issues and were prepared to present it, it got shot all to hell as well. True, the battle with Sara/Rido was only a minor setback in the grand scheme of things, and, as much as he hated to say it, did have its good side. It allowed Yuuki some closure with Rido. But again, the bad outweighed the good since it seemed to make Yuuki both afraid of him and her own powers.

Now this war with the hunters. Not only was it making him rework his plans, but it was putting the woman he loved in danger, yet again. He could forgive them for making him use his mind. It had been a long time since he had had to think through what more than one group of people would do at one time and he almost enjoyed the challenge. But, putting Yuuki in mortal danger again . . . that was something he could never forget nor could he allow it to go unpunished. They would die for this.

He jumped as he felt a hand on his arm and turned his head to see Yuuki looking at him with concern in her beautiful crimson eyes. It took him a few seconds to realize that she had spoken to him. She was a little unnerved at the distant yet almost murderous look in his eyes and wondered what he had been thinking about when she had pulled him out of it.

"Hm?" he asked raising an eyebrow wondering what he had missed while he had been thinking. And wondering why he had been that distracted in the first place. It was rare for him to get lost in thought like that. He glanced at the others to see if they had noticed his momentary lapse and saw, to his chagrin, that they all had.

"We were thinking that we had about finished here and were going to leave to finish the set-up process before the nobles get here," Yuuki said slowly, still eyeing him oddly. "We were wondering if you had anything else you felt needed to be added, or if we are actually done here."

"Oh," he said, visibly composing himself, "I think we are done here for now. We have done all the initial planning we can. We just have to wait for the first move to be made now."

"In that case," the headmaster said heading for the door, "I'm going to go see how evacuations are going and then start setting up a training area."

"I'll get a head start on setting that up," Zero said standing up from the table to join him. "Join me when you can but take your time, I can handle it."

"I'll come with you," Seiren whispered. Blushing a little under the knowing looks everyone gave her and realizing how her words could be construed after Zero telling the headmaster to take his time. "The two of us will get it done faster," she added.

Yuuki had to hide her smile to avoid embarrassing the other woman further as she thought, _What are you trying to make time for?_ Kaname, however, didn't bother hiding his smirk. He even went as far as to make sure that Zero saw it, causing the younger man to blush almost as brightly as Seiren.

"Let's go," Zero said somewhat gruffly, grabbing Seiren's hand and leading her to the door before anyone could say anything to make the situation any more embarrassing than it already was. With a nod of his head to Kaname and a small smile for Yuuki, Kaien followed them.

Once she was actually sure they had left the room, Yuuki turned to her lover and said, "Kaname, we need to talk."

"I agree," he replied, surprised at the petulance in his own voice.

"You're mad," Yuuki scoffed. "I knew you'd be mad."

"I'm not mad," he denied "I'm. . ."

"Disappointed?" she supplied bitterly.

"No," he said slowly, wondering where that sudden bitterness had come from. "I'm . . . what's the word I'm looking for . . . hurt."

"Hurt?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes," he replied, "I'm hurt that you didn't talk to me about it before it got so intense that you needed to let it out that way. I knew that the past week had been stressful for you, and me, but I thought you were handling it better than you were." She opened her mouth to say something and he could tell from the look in her eyes that she had not appreciated his last sentence so he continued talking. "_Not_ to imply that you should have been able to handle it better, but you seemed so strong and you never said anything about it bothering you, so I thought you had already dealt with it."

"I didn't want to burden you with my problems when I knew that you had your own to deal with," she said quietly looking down at the table.

"But that's what I'm here for," he said as though it was the simplest, most logical thing in the world. "It's not a burden for you to tell me something is bothering you. It's not wrong."

"But—"

"Would you prefer for me to let you know what I'm thinking or keep you in the dark?" He asked. She didn't answer, but she didn't need to. "Just promise me that you will try not to worry about inconveniencing me with your feelings. You are entitled to feelings as well."

She nodded, a small smile on her face. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?" she asked.

"Not exactly," he replied, "though we did need to talk about that as well. What I wanted to ask you is do you really think that Kyriuu and I are like Ruka and Aidou?"

She laughed and nodded in response. She found it funny that in light of all that they had learned that day he was _still_ preoccupied with that simile.

"Which one do I remind you of?" he asked with a grimace. He wasn't sure he really wanted the answer. Would he rather be compared to a girl, or Aidou?

"Well. . . If I had to pick I would say Ruka-senpai," Yuuki said slowly.

"Why?" Kaname asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Because Zero and Aidou-senpai—though Zero is a little more profane—are both more outspoken and hot tempered than either you or Ruka-senpai. Also both she and you think that Zero and Aidou are idiots," she explained.

Kaname thought about it a moment and realized that she was probably right. And actually that was a rather well thought out explanation, especially since he had really put her on the spot there. "I suppose I can see that," he finally grudgingly said. "What was it that you wanted to talk about, Yuuki? Or have we already discussed it?"

"Actually," she said, "I was wondering if you had a back-up plan. The plan that we have is great, and will work, _if_ they don't attack immediately. But if I was them I would attack before my enemy had a chance to prepare."

He felt pride swell within him at her words. She may not want to fight, but she was already thinking strategically. He had long known that she wasn't stupid, and though she implied otherwise earlier, he knew that she wasn't a child but he wasn't sure that she had it in her to think analytically about strategy when there were lives on the line. He was impressed, but he didn't tell her for fear that she would accuse him of being condescending.

"Actually I do," he told her. "I realized the same thing a bit ago and started creating a contingency plan. I will fill you in on it while we set up the training area we will be using, alright?"

She nodded and Kaname turned up his cup, drinking the last of his coffee before standing up and offering her his hand.

She eyed his empty cup for moment thinking about what he had said earlier that morning before she looked at him and asked, "Did you know something like this was going to happen?"

He shook his head sadly. "I had no idea that someone was about to declare war," he assured her. "I would have warned you if I had heard even a _rumor_ about this."

She searched his face for a moment then, content that he was telling the truth, she took his hand and allowed him to lead her out of the kitchen.

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"I can't believe the nerve of that man!" Zero said to Seiren once they and the headmaster had gone their separate ways—with a knowing look and a "you kids behave yourselves now" from Kaien.

"He cares for you," Seiren said gently. She couldn't deny that she was more than a little embarrassed with how the day had gone so far, but the headmaster had just been teasing Zero. He hadn't really meant anything by it.

"I highly doubt that," Zero scoffed. "He wouldn't care if I died as long as I served my purpose doing it."

"Zero!" Seiren chided. "That's no way to talk about the man who raised you!"

"What?" Zero asked confusion in his violet eyes. "I was talking about Kuran and his smirking. What were you talking about?"

"Never mind," Seiren said quickly thinking that perhaps Zero had been so busy brooding on Kaname's facial expression to notice what the headmaster had said and not wanting to start a fight between them. "Do you think we should use the gym?" she asked changing the subject.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Zero replied, allowing the subject change because he didn't really want to think about what Kuran thought they were going to do alone since he already knew what it was and wasn't ready to go _there _yet. "It should be easily convertible to a training area. I was actually thinking more about how we are going to teach nobles how to fight."

"It actually won't be that difficult," Seiren said. "We all have some rudimentary training so that we can deal with Level E's. Most will just need a refresher course and some weapons training."

"I'm afraid you're wrong," he told her. "They are going to need to be retrained. Fighting Level E's is nothing like fighting a hunter, or another vampire. Level E's are completely controlled by their base desires, while hunters will be controlled by both logic and years of training. It is going to take a long time for the nobles to be ready to fight."

"They may surprise you," she said gently. "Besides, I'm sure that Kaname-sama has plans to buy us the time we need."

"You really trust him, don't you?" Zero asked perplexed by the trust she placed in the pureblood. A little bit of jealously rising in him as he realized that another woman he loved had some kind of thing for Kaname.

"He's never given me reason not to," she replied simply. "I trust you too," she added, seeming to pick up on his jealousy. "And even though no one else will understand it, I like you. And I've decided that I don't care who knows that we're together." As she finished she kissed him full on the lips in the middle of the school grounds. She felt a heady rush of something she couldn't name at the fact that she was finally taking her own future into her hands. Even when she heard a wolf-whistle from the left she didn't allow him to pull back immediately, but continued kissing him for a moment to show him she wasn't embarrassed to be caught with him.

Zero, while not embarrassed that he was caught kissing her, was embarrassed that he had been caught kissing anyone. He was not used to showing emotions to people, and affectionate gestures, like kissing someone, were not something he had ever expected to experience, let alone do in public. He had tried to break the kiss when he had heard someone whistle, but her hand in his hair had stopped him. He did, however, manage to make an obscene gesture in the direction of the whistler.

When they finally broke it off, Zero turned to see who had whistled at them and saw Yagari leading a large group of day class students. He felt a slight flush color his face at having been caught making out by what looked to be 90% of his class mates. The male half of whom looked envious that Zero was on that level of familiarity with a night class student and the female half looking shocked that Zero was on that level of familiarity with _anyone_.

Yagari looked amused. "Really, you two," he said attempting to cover the laughter in his voice. "I would think after this morning you would be a little more discrete. And Zero, that is a very inappropriate thing to do to a teacher. You're lucky school is not in session or you would be in detention for a month."

At his words the day class students began whispering among themselves, speculating about what Zero and the night class girl could have been up to that morning. A few of the guess were very close to the truth, though most of them involved much less clothing than had actually been present.

"You just had to say that, didn't you?" Zero hissed at Yagari. "Now they're going to think that we . . . you know."

"Now I never said that," Yagari said. "Any conclusions that they draw are their own. And I will not be blamed for the perverted minds of teenagers. Now, if you'll excuse us, I need to get these students to the train station."

Zero and Seiren stepped out of the way and allowed the gaggle of students to pass. Zero glaring at one of the boys who patted him on the shoulder and said, "Zero, you dog" with a smile. A smile that quickly fell as he caught sight of Zero's glare and thanked all the gods in heaven that looks couldn't kill. Though he highly suspected that the silver-haired boy could and walked faster so that he could get right behind Yagari thinking that Zero would not harm him right under a teacher's nose.

Zero continued fuming long after they had gone. He was angry that everyone seemed to think that he and Seiren had done _that_ while _no one_ realized that Kaname and Yuuki were. Even Kaname and Yuuki seemed to think that the two of them were going to and they found it amusing, even if Yuuki had tried to hide her amusement he had seen it. It was Kaien and Yagari that botherd him the most though, especially Kaien. He still hadn't forgiven the headmaster for being scandalized that he had shared a bed somewhat platonically with a member of the opposite sex but accepting of the fact that Yuuki and Kuran were sharing. He wondered how accepting Kaien would be to find out what Kuran and Yuuki were actually doing.

He broke off with a shudder. The fact that Yuuki was having sex with her brother was still too much for him to handle.

"It doesn't matter, you know?" Seiren said quietly. He looked at her surprised wondering if she had heard his last thought. "What all of them think," she clarified. "You and I know the truth. What they think is happening doesn't really matter."

"I guess you're right," he said with a sigh. "But it just pisses me off that they keep jumping to conclusions."

"We have much bigger things to worry about for now," she reminded him. "We can worry about what your classmates think after the war is over." He nodded his agreement. She was right, there were much more important things to worry about than what a bunch of teenagers thought: like survival.

He looked around the gym with another sigh. "Well," he said with a small humorless laugh, "let's get started.

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**So what did ya'll think? I tried to fit in a little more fluff before everything hits the fan. I hope you enjoyed it. Leave me a review if you have time and feel so inclined**

**Figured I would answer a few reviews this time since I have time today.**

**Sparta306: Thank you! I always love it when people enjoy my work :) I will see what I can do about that, I do know that Kaname will be wreaking all kinds of havoc and I will try to let Yuuki have some havoc time.**

**12345667: I'm glad that you are enjoying it. Here's a new chapter for you :)**

**XxMoonlitSynnxX: Thank you so much! I will try to keep chapters coming at regular interverals at least for the summer.**

**Avenging Neko: Yep, the non-mobile version now has a big blue button. I'm glad you liked it, I was worred that I might have made him a bit too harsh on her. And I know! Poor Yuuki. But that's what happens when sadistic authors write :( lol**

**As always thank you for reading, and see you next week**

**Stickdonkeys.**


	35. Chapter 35

**Sorry about the long gap. All kinds of crap hit the fan so to speak. This one was also harder to write for some reason. I hope you enjoy it :) I do want to say thank you to every one who has stuck with me through all of this. I never expected it to be this long (almost 84,000 words without authors notes and over a year in the writing) or this popular (100 favorites and 99 alerts). Ya'll have made every word worth it. Thank you. And don't worry, it's not over yet :)**

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"That might actually work," Yuuki said as Kaname finished telling her about "Plan B". "Do you think that you can do it?"

Kaname laughed a little at the doubt Yuuki had about his abilities. "I can do it," he assured her. "But I'm still hoping it won't come to that."

She nodded though she remembered the last time that Kaname had assured her that he could do something and how well _that _had worked out. Rather than voice her cynical thought, she looked around the clearing that they had decided to set up as a training area. She had originally suggested using one of the larger classrooms but Kaname had pointed out the fact that they were trying to learn destructive magic.

"Kaien will probably kill me if we damage any more school buildings," Kaname had said with a laugh.

She glanced uncomfortably at the dummies they had made from some old clothes and leaves. Even though they didn't look like people, she was still unsure if she could attack them. Not because she was afraid of hurting them, but because every time she had ever used her powers it had been in an emotional state and that was apparently not the right way. She had no idea how she was _supposed _to access them.

"Kaname?" she asked quietly, trying not to startle him if he was busy.

"Yes," he said turning to look at her over his shoulder as he stitched together another of the dummies. The sight of Kaname with a sewing needle in his hands and a lap full of fabric would have made Yuuki laugh if it wasn't for the question that was weighing on her mind.

"You know how you didn't want the nobles to know that I lost control of my powers?" she began.

He nodded knowing where she was going with this. He had thought of that as well and had weighed the consequences of each. While he didn't intend to engage in full disclosure with the nobles, allowing Yuuki to train with them would reveal the depth of her ignorance when it came to magic, but not allowing her to train with them could potentially, no _would_, put her in danger when the time for battle came. Given the choice between letting the nobles see a little weakness in their queen and risking Yuuki's life if she wasn't trained; well there really was no choice in Kaname's eyes.

"Won't starting from scratch show them that I have no idea what I'm doing and therefore have no chance at control?" She asked. Again he was pleasantly surprised at how well she planned ahead. He had known that she was smart, but there were many intelligent people he know that were unable to form plans on top of plans based on how things went at any particular turn.

"Are you sure you don't like chess?" He asked suddenly. Her mouth dropped open slightly and she looked at him incredulously. Where the _hell_ had that come from? They were talking about magical training and he turned to _board games_?

Seeing the look she was giving him, he figured that he might need to give her a little more explanation. "The way your mind works," he explained, "is well suited to chess. You see angles that most people don't. I think it would be fun to play against you. I think it would be a good match."

"Mmhm," she replied skeptically, still eyeing him like he was insane. "I think you're avoiding the question."

"It will show that your control it weak," he replied. "But that is only a small problem."

"Just this morning it was a _huge_ problem," Yuuki interjected. "Hence the lying."

"This morning," he reminded her gently, "we weren't at war. In light of recent events, it has become a small problem."

"I figured that it would now be an even bigger problem," she said softly. At his raised eyebrow she continued, "Well, I figured that since we are at war they would need more than even to see us as strong leaders so they wouldn't question us."

He sighed, she was right. They did need to appear strong, especially in a time of war. "Be that as it may," he said ignoring her look, "you being able to protect yourself is more important than public image is to me. If it will make you feel better, we can work for a while on the basics before we get ready for the meeting with the nobles this evening."

"That would be great!" she said enthusiastically. Even if she didn't believe Kaname's prediction that she would be in danger if she showed weakness, she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of the nobles. She wanted to prove that she was worthy to rule beside Kaname.

"As I told you," Kaname said gently slipping into teacher mode, "All you have to do is think about what you want to accomplish and release the magic to do it."

"But I can't do that without giving into emotion," Yuuki complained.

"Yes you can," he assured her. "The power is there, feel for it. I'll help you. Close your eyes and listen to the sound of my voice." She did as she was told and waited for her next instruction. "Just breath normally. Feel your heart beat. Do you feel your blood moving in your veins?" she nodded, she felt something moving in time to the beat of her heart and assumed that it was her blood.

"Good," he said. "Flowing alongside it is another current. This one will not pulse like the first. Can you feel it?" She thought a moment and realized that she could feel a steady current throughout her body and nodded.

"That is the flow of your magic," he explained. "Though it doesn't pulse, it is also driven by the heart. That's why it is easier to access when you are emotionally aroused. However, accessing it when it is flowing more strongly is more dangerous, since it is easier to lose control of this stronger current. If you can keep your mind calm, you can access this current at any time. Try it now."

She reached for the current, only to have it come to her before she could reach it. Kaname felt the hair on his arms rise as Yuuki tapped into her powers. She was strong, if only she could learn to harness it. "Open your eyes," he instructed wanting to see if they were their usual wine color or glowing crimson. She opened them slowly, but even before they were fully open he could see the glow of magic in them.

"Pick one of the dummies," he said, "And remove just its right arm." She looked at one of the dummies and focused on removing its right arm. Not a second later the arm in question exploded from the dummy.

"I did it!" she cried flinging her arms around him her eyes going back to their original color.

"Yes, you did," he replied with a proud smile. "But may I ask if that was the arm you were aiming for?"

"Yes," she answered, "why?"

"Because that is actually the dummy's _left _arm you just blew off," Kaname said with a laugh. Yuuki looked again and realized that he was right. She had blown off what would have been her right, the dummy's left.

"Oops," she said with a smile, "But at least I hit where I was aiming for."

"That you did," he replied. "Would you like to try again?"

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Zero looked around at the gymnasium and was surprised at the changes they had managed to make in the short time they had been working. The space that had once been used for such humiliating practices a dodge ball was almost unrecognizable. The entire floor was now padded with thick blue mats and there were makeshift punching bags hanging along the wall. It almost looked like a real practice area, and it almost made him think that there was more than a snowball's chance in hell of them succeeding.

"I think it will work well," Seiren said suddenly appearing beside him.

He replied with a shrug and a non-committal sound that might have possibly been agreement.

"You don't sound convinced," she stated, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

He sighed. He didn't want to tell her that he didn't really believe that there was hope. He still couldn't see how they were going to train a handful of nobles to fight against hunters who had been trained since birth to kill vampires. Honestly, though he never would have admitted it to _anyone_ and would have killed anyone who said he thought it, he knew that Yuuki and Kuran would be their best bet against the hunters. No matter how well trained they were, there was no way that they were prepared to battle against the freaky powers of the purebloods. "No matter how good the gym looks, we still have to remember that we are still training _nobles_, not soldiers."

"Oh really?" she asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I think you forget that _I'm _ a noble," she said with a predatory smile. "Do you think you can beat me, mister 'elite trained warrior'?"

"Now I never said that," Zero said backing away from her. He wasn't sure what she was doing and unsure if he could beat her without hurting her, if he could beat her at all.

Her smile widened at the almost panicked look on his face. While she didn't want to hurt him, she was halfway interested in seeing how well she could hold her own against him. A little friendly sparring never hurt anything. Besides, he needed to work out a little of his frustrations from over the past couple of days before he was turned loose on the other nobles.

Her smile only served to unnerve him even further. He continued backing away from her until he tripped over a seam in the mats. "What are you doing?" he asked her when she kept coming.

"I would think it would be obvious," she said with a smile. "I'm picking a fight . . . with you." She saw his lavender eyes narrow as he finally realized what she was doing. He covered up his smirk and held out his hand.

"Help me up?" he asked. She smiled and lowered her hand to do as he'd asked. The moment her hand touched his, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down beside him before pinning her below him. "I can't believe you fell for that. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book," he said, laughter bubbling up his throat at the surprised look on her face.

"I can't believe you would resort to such cheap tactics," she said glaring past him and seeing the headmaster's shocked face over his shoulder. "But you might want to look behind you."

"Like I would fall for that," he laughed. "That _is _the oldest trick in the book."

"ZERO!" the headmaster called. "In public! I thought I raised you better!"

At his words, Seiren fought the urge to sigh. She had almost put Zero into a good mood, and then the headmaster had to come in and ruin all her work. She didn't really mind if everyone thought they were doing things that they weren't. Her whole life people had thought that she was heartless when the opposite was actually true. But she could tell how much it bothered him. She just hoped that he would keep his temper in check. But judging by the way his eye was twitching, she didn't think that was going to happen.

"THAT'S IT!" Zero yelled seeming to erupt from the ground and before Seiren could stop him was nose to nose with Kaien. "I am SICK of EVERYONE thinking that we are having sex. You, Yagari, even Kuran gave me a superior, knowing look. It's pissing me off! Especially you! You saw me and Seiren in bed fully clothed, but Kuran and Yuuki in bed—with him at least partially naked—you are _perfectly ok_ with. Even though I can assure you that _they_ are having sex."

Kaien looked like Zero had slapped him even though no one had touched him. Seiren was equally as shocked. Even though she had known that the two purebloods were romantically involved, yelling it that bluntly at her father . . . she had known that Zero was rash, but that was just cold. Kaien backed slowly away from him looking defeated.

Zero realized that he had said more than he meant to as well. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly. "I didn't mean to say that. I was mad."

"Does that mean it's not true?" Kaien asked in a small voice. He knew that Yuuki wasn't really his daughter and that she and Kaname were engaged to be married, but he hadn't thought that she was having sex. He also knew that she was a teenager and he had heard that was what teenagers do . . . but he just couldn't reconcile the idea of the little girl he had raised doing that.

Zero took a deep breath. He knew that it would be kinder to lie to the headmaster, but he respected him too much to do that. "No," Zero said quietly shaking his head. Kaien nodded sadly and turned to walk out the door.

"Damn," Zero sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Why would you say that?" Seiren asked him harshly.

"I . . . I don't know," Zero said. "I was mad, and it just slipped out."

She made a disgusted noise in her throat. "You need to learn a little more self control," she snapped. "That was cruel and uncalled for."

Getting called out by her, with all the stress he was currently under caused him to lash out at her. "What do you know?" he snapped. "As you keep reminding me, you're a noble vampire. You haven't had to deal with the pitying glances from that man as you grew up. With knowing that he knew that someday he would probably have to kill you and seeing that in his eyes. With the way that he tried to get close to you, but never let himself get too close."

"I'm sure that was difficult," she said trying to pacify him. She may not have gone through that exactally, but she knew what it was like to be an outcast. She was too high up the ladder for most of the nobles to be willing to spend time with her and too low for the purebloods to spend time with her. She was a social outcast even though she was well blooded. Her existence had been a lonely one.

"Oh," he snorted sarcastically. "I'm sure you understand _perfectly_."

His dismissal of her feelings stung deeply and she reacted out of instinct. "You're right," she spat. "I don't understand." He looked smug until she continued speaking. "I don't understand how you can have such complete disregard for the man who took you in and loved you like a son despite the fact that he knew what you were and that it meant that he would someday be responsible for ending you. _That _is something I can't understand." With her last word she walked past him out the same door that the headmaster had left through moments before.

Once she left Zero sank to the ground. He realized that he had been a complete idiot. He had just hurt two of the people who cared about him the most in the world. And for no apparent reason, except his own anger. He had no idea how the hell he could fix this one. The only word that came to his mind as he sat alone in the gym was, "shit."

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**Well there it is Y'all. I actually meant for it to be longer, but ran out of time. That last scene was really hard to make work out, I'm not sure that I like it. . . but whatever. Tell me what you think about it and other things. If enough people like it, I will keep it, if not I may re-write it and repost this chapter later. As always thank you for taking the time to read, favorite, review and put this on story alerts. You all keep me writing**

**Till next time, **

**Stickdonkeys**

**Now for the fun shout-out section!**

**Thank you to ****Lady Amira II, branster921, TheLostLittleDevil, Frenchie121, girlfun, for adding this story to their favorites, and a special thank you to Sofia Dragansti for being the 100****th**** person to favorite this story.**

**1234567: See, more story for you!**

**God of all: Thank you, and here's a new chapter :)**

**Avneging Neko: I'm glad you like that comparison. And a truce. . . nah! Where's the fun in a truce? Isn't it though?**

**Cosmic-lover: Zero, pacience. . . not really two words that belong in the same sentence, unless "has no" is the connector. . . but maybe after this little outburst he will learn to channel it better. She had been too calm in my opinion and it was high time that she had an outburst of some kind. And Zero just seemed like the right person to have talk sense into her. Come on, Kaname ALWAYS has a plan. . . or three. But despite his cool exterior, he is still human. I hope that came across in this chapter. And poor Zero and Seiren. . . **

**DON"T STOP WRITING: I will try, thank you for your encouragement!**

**Fimrl: I'm glad that you love it. :) I hope you enjoyed the new chapter as much as you have the story so far. Thank you! I was hoping to stick close despite all the crap I have put them through.**

**AKILAH: I will do my best :D **


	36. Chapter 36

**Here we are ya'll new chapter! Sorry about the long wait between, but just remember, if you kill me, there are no more updates ever.**

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Kaien walked slowly away from the gym where Zero and Seiren were. Part of him wanted to run, but he couldn't seem to summon the energy to do it. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much that Yuuki and Kaname were having sex, but it did. He had noticed that there was a closeness between them lately that there had never been before, but he had assumed that it was because Yuuki finally knew the truth and they were reconnecting as siblings.

Surprisingly their blood connection wasn't what upset him about the situation. He had known that there was love between them for years—even if Yuuki tried to claim that it was just respect—and had done nothing to discourage it, despite knowing the truth of their blood relationship because even though humans frowned on incest, Yuuki and Kaname were not human. Though that had gotten harder for Kaien to remember over the years.

It was easy for him to remember that Zero was 'borrowed goods' so to speak. The boy's distant attitude helped to remind him and the tattoo on his neck was a glaring sign that no matter how human he looked, he was not. But Yuuki . . . she never showed any sign of being more than she appeared, other than her lack of disquiet when among vampires. And as the years passed, the fact that she was actually a pureblood vampire who would one day return to that world slowly faded as well. Even now, after he had seen sign after sign of her power, it was hard for Kaien to remember that she was now Yuuki_ Kuran_, not Yuuki Cross, and that she was never really his.

Maybe that was what was really bothering him. This was just one more action that showed the distance that her change had put between them. Even though all teenagers say their parents can't understand what they are going though, with Yuuk, it was true. She was going through all kinds of changes that he really couldn't help her with, even though Kaname could. But this . . . this was something he understood. And even though he wasn't sure how much right he had to do it, he intended to speak with both of them about this. He was fairly certain he would survive the ordeal.

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Yuuki narrowed her eyes as she focused on the dummy across the clearing. Kaname watched her face, and fought the urge to laugh at the intense look of concentration there. He had to admit, despite the funny faces she made, she had made amazing progress that day. She now had a basic grasp of her powers and was experimenting with the different facets of them. Unlike the lesser nobles, purebloods had the ability to manifest and use any element they chose, but eventually one would _call_ to them and they would work more with it than any other. For Kaname, though he could still manifest other elements if he chose, the call had come from the psychokinetic side of things.

Yuuki had so far managed to manifest many of the elements, but she was still hesitant with some of them, and flat out refused to attempt to control blood. When Kaname had brought it up, her smile—which only seconds before had been bright with the exhilaration of being able to control her powers—fell and her eyes lost their focus.

"I can't," she had said in a lifeless voice. Even though he suspected that she _could_ he hadn't pressed the matter any further, since he knew that the problem was her recent encounters with Rido and "Sara." She would try when she was ready.

Kaname watched as the dummy she had been focusing on was frozen to where it's knees would be and then simultaneously burst into flames and exploded scattering flaming bits of stuffing across the clearing, which Yuuki promptly extinguished before she turned to him with a pleased smile on her face.

Despite himself he started laughing and grabbed a nearby tree limb to steady himself. Her smile fell a little at his reaction to her attack. She had been wondering if she could control more than one power at the same time, and was pleased with herself that she had done it, and here he was laughing at her efforts.

"Did I do it wrong?" Yuuki asked in a small voice that sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

At her tone, Kaname stopped laughing and looked at her levelly, though he couldn't hide the mirth in his eyes. "No, my dear girl, you did fantastically. But don't you think that was a little bit of overkill? Explosion will destroy most things, as will immolation, but together, they are a little much, wouldn't you agree?"

"I suppose so," she replied bitterly, taking his statement as criticism of her skills.

"Yuuki," he said, his eyes finally losing the mirth as he caught her mood. "You have made _extraordinary _progress today. Most purebloods take years to learn that they can control more than one burst of power at the same time, if they ever do."

"Really?" she asked, a small smile gracing her face at his praise.

"Would I lie to you?" he asked with a smile. Feeling mischievous, she replied with a slight shrug. Sensing the change in her mercurial moods, Kaname's smile became decidedly predatory.

"Is that really all the more faith you have in me?" he asked beginning to stalk towards her.

"Now, I never _said_ that," Yuuki said, backing away from him and holding her hands out like she was attempting to pacify him, though the look in her eyes clearly said that was the _last _thing she wanted to do to him.

"I assure you," he replied, his voice little more than a purr, "your intentions were _quite_ clear."

"Really?" she asked slightly tilting her head to the side, her eyes wide with feigned innocence, but smoldering with desire. "And what exactly _are_ my intentions?"

The tone of her voice and the look in her eyes did ungodly things to Kaname and he let out what was somewhere between a groan and a moan before he closed the distance between them and pressed her up against a tree, using his arms and body to effectively cage her in. He heard her let out a little noise of pleasure before he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. "You know _exactly_ what you are doing to me," he breathed against her ear causing the skin around it to goosebumb.

Yuuki shook her head, teasing him. She was somewhat intrigued by this version of Kaname. While it was true that their other rendezvous had had passion, gentleness had been his main attribute so far. This time there was a more wild edge to it, and she was at the same time aroused and terrified by it.

At her head shake, Kaname felt himself laugh. He knew what she was up to and was more than happy to play along, he had heard that banter as foreplay could be fun. "Is that so?" he whispered. "You mean you can't feel it?"

"I feel something," she replied with a smirk, "but I don't know what it means. You'll have to explain it. Aren't we here for you to help me learn things?"

"Somehow," he replied his eyes practically burning with barely contained lust, "I feel that this is more of an _object _lesson than a theoretical one."

"Then show me," she whispered in his ear feeling surprisingly bold.

"As you wish," he said stepping back slightly and removing his shirt.

"It doesn't look any different than usual," she purred reaching forward to stroke the pale skin he revealed. "From what you've shown me so far, I can't see that I'm having any affect on you."

"I assure you that you are," he said huskily before slowly undoing his pants and allowing them to fall to the ground at his feet. He watched the smile slowly spread across her face as she looked him over. He was especially amused at the fact that despite all the forward talk she had just engaged in, she was blushing slightly at the sight of him fully nude.

"Now I see," she said. Her blush deepened as she asked "So what do you intend to do with it?" Her heart raced as the words left her mouth and she fought the urge to clamp her hand over it. She couldn't believe that she had just said that. Kaname looked equally as shocked, but soon the shock faded from his crimson eyes and was replaced once more with passion.

He closed the space between them and looked straight into her eyes and said levelly, "I intend to take you, right here," before kissing her again and grabbing the hem of her blouse. Her hands joined his and they only broke the kiss long enough for the piece of cloth to pass between them before resuming it and removing her pants and underwear. Once they were both naked, Kaname pressed her against the tree and kissed down the side of her neck on his way to her left breast.

She panted as he gently bit her and tangled her fingers in his hair. As she closed her eyes at the feeling and arched her back to give him better access the bark of the tree behind her scraped her back, drawing blood. With her eyes closed, the sting of the scrape brought back memories that she didn't really want to relive. She had thought she was over what Rido had done to her, but she was wrong. The brief sting of pain, coupled with the gentle yet insistent way Kaname was touching her caused her to panic. She opened her eyes hoping that the sight of her lover would calm her, but all she could see was the top of his head. She nudged him, hoping that he would look at her and his eyes would do the trick, but when he looked up, his hair fell over his right eye. It was more than she could handle.

Kaname heard her noise of pleasure as he took her breast into his mouth, then the air had filled with the smell of her blood and driven his already rampant lust to new heights. He had returned to planting fierce kisses across her skin and caressing her and heard her breathing speed up. He was pleased that he was able to bring her pleasure. When she nudged him with her hand, he glanced up at her, expecting her to give him some kind of instruction, since that had almost been the game they had been playing. He had a moment to register the sheer panic on her face before she shoved him away, both physically and psychically.

He stood slowly, brushing his hair out of his eyes. His lust had disappeared under his shock and anger. "Yuuki, what's the matter with you?" he asked anger seeping into his tone. "Why did you do that?" He looked at her, halfway expecting to see her standing there with a smirk on her face. Instead she was curled up in a ball under the tree, crying. When he saw her crying, his anger evaporated and he approached her slowly, both because he wasn't sure what she would do and because he didn't want to upset her more.

"Yuuki?" he asked gently, stopping a few feet from her. "Are you alright?" At his gentle words, he sobbing increased. He cautiously moved closer and knelt down beside her. "Yuuki," he tried again. "Will you tell me what upset you? I'm sorry if I did something wrong."

She looked at him from under her arm. "It's not you," she wailed. "It's me! I'm just ridiculous! I know that he's dead, but I just can't get him out of my head!"

Kaname let out a sigh as he realized what had happened. He didn't need her to explain anything else. "It's completely understandable," he said trying to keep the pain he felt for her out of his voice. "There is a certain familial resemblance between us."

"Not really," she said stubbornly, though she knew that it was true. Anyone who saw any of the Kurans together would know that they were related, they all looked somewhat alike. . . but that was not enough of an excuse for her reaction, or so she thought. "And even if it is true," she continued, "I _know_ that he is dead. There is no reason for me to react like that to you."

"Yuuki," Kaname sighed. "You are being too hard on yourself. As you reminded me this morning, you have been through too many things in too short of a time. It makes sense that you would have problems associated with them." He wanted to comfort her, but was still unsure if his touch would be welcome, so instead he retrieved his pants and shirt and began redressing himself.

Yuuki felt her eyes fill with tears at the confusion and pain in Kaname's eyes and hated that she was the cause of it. She hated the distance she felt between them as he handed her clothing to her, careful not to even let their fingers brush in the process. She felt his silence like a physical weight as he turned away to give her a little privacy to dress. She understood that is why he had done it, but it hurt her that he would think that was what she needed from him. She didn't need space, she needed _him_.

"Kaname?" she asked her voice little more than a whisper, which she knew he would hear. He made a small noise in reply, but didn't turn to face her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I can't get a handle on this. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I promise I don't hate you, but I could understand if you've come to hate me."

Forgetting why he had turned away in the first place at her anguish, he turned to face his lover and hated himself for what he saw there. "I do not hate you," he replied, surprised at the emotion in his own voice. "I love you, but I don't know how to help you with this and I hate myself for being useless while you suffer."

"You're not useless," she said. "You are one of the only things in my life right now that have stayed even remotely the same. True, some things about you have changed, but the things that make you _you_ haven't. I need that stability. And I need _you_ to be there for me, ok?" At her words some of his self-directed anger dissipated and he gave her the first smile she had seen since she put an abrupt end to their encounter earlier. True, it was a small, sad smile, but it was a smile all the same.

He nodded his head, silently agreeing to be there for her, and then said," Come, finish redressing and we can return to the house to prepare for the meeting with the nobles." She was a little frustrated at the distance that was still present in his voice, but figure that after rejecting him it was probably what she deserved. Then her heart lifted as his eyes lit with mischief as he added, "Besides, I think you owe me a game of chess."

She laughed a little before she pulled on her shirt and took the hand he extended to help her up. "If I must," she sighed, looking for all the world like she had just been told that she was going to have to walk to her own execution.

"It won't be that bad," he said ruffling her already mussed hair with a laugh. "I promise."

"I hate it when you say that," Yuuki replied, her tone light but her eyes serious. "That is the only thing that you ever get completely wrong."

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Seiren stalked angrly through the forest. She couldn't believe that he would do that! She had always known that he was rude and abrupt and callous, but she figured that he would have more regard for the people that cared about him. She had watched him interact with Yuuki for years—since Kaname was watching Yuuki and she was watching Kaname—and even though Zero had been a little distant at times, he had never been cruel. When she though back to the things he had just said, she felt the urge to cry.

_Why should I,_ she thought savagely. _ He has no idea what he's talking about. I'm far too old to be this upset by what one _stupid_ man thinks. Besides I haven't been involved with him that long. This experiment was a bad idea anyway. Why should I care if it's over? If I arrange things correctly, I will never have to see him or speak to him again."_

Despite what she thought, she did care, very much so. The idea of never speaking to Zero hurt, and that worried her. She may look like a teenager, but she was not. She felt some of her anger leave her as she realized that even if she was older than she looked, he was not. He really was a teenager, a moody, hormonal male teenager at that. Who was trying so hard to distance himself from everyone so that he didn't hurt them.

She felt a small smile cross her face at the stupidity of his plan of hurting people to push them away so that he didn't hurt them. If she didn't know he was still young, that line of reasoning would prove it. Once she realized that part of his anger probably came from the same kind of anxiety she had about how fast they had bonded, she actually laughed. As much as she hated to admit it, they had much in common. He kept people at bay through fear of his anger, and she through fear of her mysteriousness.

That didn't mean that he was going to get a free pass for his cruelty towards her, but it did mean that he would be forgiven . . . eventually. She felt an almost cruel smile twist her face as she formulated a plan.

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Zero had no idea how long he had stayed in the same position, but when he eventually decided that he would go for a walk to try to figure out what to do his muscles had stiffened a little from holding the same posture. Without really paying attention to where his feet were going, he eventually found himself at the stables. The warm smell of the animals calmed him. It was nice to be around warmth and life that didn't make him want to take that warmth and life from it. He walked over to one of the horses and buried his face in her mane.

"I'm such an idiot," he told her. "I had a great thing going and I had to go and ruin it in one stupid conversation." His mind kept replaying the shock and hurt on both Kaien and Seiren's faces as he made an ass of himself again.

"I don't know how to fix it," he said grabbing a brush and running it along the horse's shoulder. "I don't even know if I _can_ fix it. And Yuuki's going to kill me . . . if her brother doesn't do it first. It actually might be the most humane thing he has ever done to me. Everyone who gives a damn about me either is or is about to be pissed at me. I really fucked up this time." The horse nickered softly in response as though she was trying to either agree with him or console him and he laughed humorlessly in response. "And now I'm out here talking to a horse since no one else wants to hear it."

He spent about an hour brushing the horse until she shone and there wasn't a tangle left in her mane or tail before he rubbed her nose and sighed. "Well I suppose I have to face them eventually," he said returning the brushes to their places and heading back to the headmaster's house at a slow pace twilight falling around him. He was in no hurry to see the looks of anger and betrayal that he was sure would greet him.

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**Here we are ya'll a new chapter. Sorry this one took so long, it was really hard for me to write. . . so much pain and anguish here. Don't worry though, things are about to pick up and people won't have time to wallow in self-pity much longer. . . whether that is a good or bad thing, I'm not sure of yet. **

**I hope you enjoyed it! I look forward to reading your reviews :)**

**Stickdonkeys**

**God of all: thank you, as always and it wasn't soon but here's a new chapter :)**

**Queen of magicians: See? More!**

**Bookwormmissy: You're welcome and I'm glad you liked that.**

**Sparta306:I will try to fit a little more of that in, I was just worried that too much would get dull. . . and we'll see what I can do about that :)**

**Cosmiclover: now I never promised a happy ending. . . you'll just have to keep reading to see what plan b is. (muhahahaha) That is what I was trying to go for with the sewing, I can't imagine him doing it either, but he would have to know how so. . . and all couples need a good spat every now and then, it's how they grow. **

**Guest: sometimes that's how life seems to go. . . admittedly these do tend to suck more than the problems most of us face. **


	37. Chapter 37

**Hey all! I have another update for you. . . and this one is huge, even for me. (Speaking of huge, this fic is beyond huge. . . I had to type this chapter in a new document and paste it into the main later because my spell-check seemed to think, **_**I don't get paid enough for this shit!**_** And mutinied. I was wondering if my spelling and typing had suddenly gotten better. . . nope a spell check strike. :/ )**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!**

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The headmaster sat in the darkened living room, waiting for Kaname and Yuuki to return home. He hadn't intended to go for the dramatic effect, but when he had sat down, there had been plenty of natural light, and now he just couldn't summon the energy to turn an artificial one on. He knew it was wrong to be so upset that she was happy, but he couldn't help it: and he hated himself for it. _It's my job to look after her_, he thought to himself. _Juuri asked me to do it and I have done a good job . . . I think. And even though I __**know**__that they are meant to be together, I just worry that they are doing it now for all the wrong reasons. _He continued that line of thinking until he heard the front door open.

"I don't think anyone's home," he heard Yuuki say. "Would you like to do something _relaxing_ before the meeting with the nobles?"

"We could play a game," he heard Kaname reply, he wondered at the smirk he heard in Kaname's voice and figured he should make his presence known before they started doing what he thought they were hinting at. Though why they would use code when they thought they were alone was beyond him.

"Kaname, Yuuki," he called, "can I talk to the two of you for a moment?"

Yuuki and Kaname exchanged a look. Something about the headmaster's tone reminded both of them of the times they had been caught doing something naughty as children. Though that was admittedly a longer time back for one of them, the memories were still there for both of them. Yuuki grimaced at the tone of reproach with the hints of disappointment that was present in those few words.

"He knows," she breathed. Kaname looked at her in question.

_What does Kaien know,_ he thought in confusion. _Oh. . . _he nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he realized _exactly_ what Kaien knew. This was not going to be a fun conversation. "How?" he asked her almost silently.

She shrugged and he could see the same embarrassment that he felt written across her face. Neither of them was sure how to deal with the situation they were in. They hadn't done anything wrong, per se, and it wasn't like they should have asked his permission to do it, but they both felt guilty.

"Yuuki, Kaname?" the headmaster asked again, frustration edging into his tone. Kaname felt himself flinch and laughed nervously at himself. This was ridiculous! True, he may be upset, but Kaien wasn't going to kill them! _Sure,_ he thought to himself, _insane rampaging purebloods and open war I can handle, but one angry father and I'm a coward. Let's get this over with. It won't be pleasant, but it won't be hazardous to our health. . . I hope._

Yuuki let out a huff of incredulity at his laughter. There was nothing _remotely_ funny about this! She was mortified! Her _father_ knew that she was having sex and the other half of the couple though this was _funny._ Kaname took a deep breath and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the room the headmaster was waiting in. For a moment, she thought about resisting him, but realized that they were going to have to have this conversation sooner or later.

"Hi daddy," she said nervously, knowing that he had always wanted her to call him that and hoping to get on his good side by doing it.

"Don't you 'daddy' me, Yuuki," he replied. He knew what she was trying to do and it wasn't going to work. "Do you know what I heard today?"

Yuuki shook her head emphatically while Kaname attempted to keep his face neutral, but raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he said, "No headmaster, we don't know what you heard. What was it?"

"Really?" Kaien asked willing to play along for now if they wanted to play innocent. "Would it surprise you to learn that things of a carnal nature have been occurring in this house?"

"A carnal nature? Really?" Kaname asked his voice both polite and disinterested. Yuuki had no idea how he could act so cool, she felt like her heart was about to pound out of her chest.

"Yes, and perpetrated by two vampires who should really set a better example than premarital sex," Kaien continued.

"Well that is detrimental then," Kaname replied. "Have you considered talking to those vampires?"

Kaien saw that Kaname was not going to admit to anything without him saying it directly first, though the look on Yuuki's face was enough to tell him that Zero had been telling the truth and not just speculating. "Well, I would," Kaien said as though considering it, "but I'm not entirely sure how to tell two _pureblooded_ vampires that they are behaving like rabbits during mating season."

"Rabbits have a mating season?" Yuuki asked, her curiosity overweighing her guilt.

"That's _not_ the point," Kaien continued. "While I understand that this was inevitable—given the sexual attraction that has been simmering between the two of you for years—I just hope that you made the decision to do so for the right reasons. And that you were at least safe about it."

Yuuki rubbed her eyes, she wasn't sure what she had been expecting when Kaien said he wanted to talk, but she hadn't been expecting this! It was bad enough that he knew that she and Kaname were having sex, but wanting to discuss sexual tension and safe sex with them . . . it almost made her wish that Rido or Sara had killed her . . . or that some kind of distraction would come soon, even if it was a mortar from the sky, since that would be far less embarrassing. She felt a blush creep up her face; she really didn't want to be there right then.

Once again, however, Kaname's reaction was completely inappropriate: he started laughing, again. She glared at him wondering what the hell was up with him today. Kaien seemed to agree with her because he frowned at Kaname.

"What's so funny?" he asked, wondering how on Earth Kaname had found anything even remotely humorous about this conversation.

"I'm sorry," Kaname said between laughs. "It is just that cautioning us about safe sex is such a _human _thing to do. " Seeing the confusion on both Kaien and Yuuki's faces, Kaname continued, "Both of the reasons for practicing safe sex are moot in vampires. There are no known vampiric venereal diseases, and there are no 'accidents'. For a vampiric conception to occur, both parties have to enter into sexual relations with the _intent_ of creating a child, there are no surprises. This is also one of the reasons vampire numbers are falling. If you live forever, and can plan when you want children, why not wait?"

As she processed his words, Yuuki felt her body go numb. Why hadn't it occurred to her before? Despite all his apparent innocence in sexual knowledge, she was not his first. There was no way that she was. He was the Kuran ancestor which meant that he must have had sex at least once with at least one other woman or there would be no Kurans. She really couldn't fault him for it, since it had been more than a lifetime ago and since if it hadn't happened she wouldn't be here at all, but it still hurt a little. Despite what she had come to think there was no way that they could ever really be equals. He had already lived more than one lifetime and she was still a child. She felt tears begin, but refused to let them fall. This was neither the time nor the place.

Kaname sensed the change in her mood and wondered what had caused it, but she was refusing to look at him, not that he could have figured it out if she would have been looking at him. It wasn't like he could read minds. Instead he focused his attention on Kaien who seemed to be having difficulty processing the information Kaname had just given him.

Finally he seemed to recover. "Be that as it may," Kaien said slowly. "It is still irresponsible. Your people are at war this is not the appropriate time for that."

"I respectfully disagree," Kaname said. "This is the perfect time for that. We are at war. None of us is promised a tomorrow, why should we not indulge today?"

Kaien though about Kaname's words for a moment, before he laughed a little and said, "I suppose I am being a foolish old man. I'm trying to treat you both like children when both of you have seen and done things that no children should. It's just that that's how I see both of you. I have watched you both grow and it's hard for me to remember that you are adults now. And monarchs at that. I will try to remember that, as long as you all try to keep you indiscretions discrete."

Kaname nodded in agreement of the terms before he felt mischief rise in him and said, "I thought we had been keeping them discrete. How did you find out?"

Kaien briefly considered telling them the truth but decided that it was not in the best interest of either him or Zero. "I have my ways," Kaien finally said with a small smile. Kaname returned his smile feeling like that was something more like what he would generally say than Kaien. And was about to say something along that line when Seiren entered the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," she told them. "But the nobles have begun to arrive. I have led them to the large auditorium, but I can take them somewhere else if that displeases you, Kaname-sama."

"No, Seiren," Kaname said. "The auditorium is perfect. We will prepare for the meeting and join you there when more have arrived. I only want to explain this once."

She gave him a shallow bow and left the room, with the intent of continuing to escort the rest of the nobles as they arrived. She was opening the main door to exit the building when she almost ran in Zero who was attempting enter.

"I'm sorry," he said backing up to let her leave.

"For almost running me over or for earlier?" she asked a little surprised at the acidity in her tone.

"Both," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. She swallowed at the intensity in his violet eyes. There was so much emotion present there that it hurt her to see it.

Despite what she had originally thought about making him squirm a bit before she accepted his apology, she couldn't go through with it. "It's ok," she said. "I understand why you did both things. I don't necessarily like why you treated me the way you did earlier, but I do understand . . . or at least I _think_ I do. You and I need to sit down and talk about it before you are completely forgiven."

Zero felt himself begin to sweat a little at her last words. She wanted to talk about what was bothering him. He wasn't comfortable talking about it . . . but he supposed if that was what it took to keep her happy he would try. "I'll try," was what he finally managed to say when it was clear that she was expecting an answer.

"That's good enough for now," she smiled. "I have some things I need to take care of right now, but I will see you later," she said before giving him a quick hug and running off before he could even return it.

Once he got over his initial shock, he his head gently to clear it before he turned to the still open door and walked in, a contented smile on his face. He didn't have long to stay content since the sight that greeted him was enough to ruin anyone's good mood. Kaname, Kaien and Yuuki were in the same room. Yuuki's face was covered in a blush. This was bad.

"Hi Zero," Yuuki greeted him with a smile. "What were you and Seiren arguing about?"

He wanted to tell her that it was none of her business, but was unsure what the headmaster had told them about how he had found out about their relationship and had no desire to irk an already potentially pissed off pureblood, which is what he would be doing to Kaname if he insulted Yuuki that way. So instead he told her, "I said some mean things to her earlier because I was angry and I just apologized."

He saw her face light up and sensed that there was an "awww" coming, but he warned her with a glace that he would not appreciate it. He saw her face work in concentration as she forcibly resisted the urge to do it. What he didn't see, however, was the headmaster's ecstatic expression. In fact, he was so focused on repressing Yuuki's reaction that he failed to dodge the headmaster's hug.

Once he had Zero in his clutches he exclaimed, "My little Zero is finally growing up!"

"Don't patronize me!" Zero shouted as he freed himself from the headmaster's grasp. "I've been grown for a while now."

"Physically maybe," Yuuki added under her breath, forgetting that Zero had vampire hearing too.

"At least I did mature physically," Zero replied choosing something that he knew bothered her since all the men in her life were head and shoulders taller than her.

"I would prefer to look like a child that to act like one," she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Yeah," he scoffed, "'cause that's not childish at all."

She glared at him in response and was about to launch herself at him when Kaname grabbed her wrist and pulled her back against his chest. "Don't worry," he whispered just loud enough that he knew Zero would hear and the headmaster wouldn't. "He doesn't know what he's talking about. There is nothing childish about your body." He watched Zero's face as he said the last part, knowing that it still bothered the silver-haired young man that he was in a position to know that.

"That's it," Zero said disgust written across his features. "I'm out of here before anything more disturbing happens."

"Why?" Kaien asked genuinely confused. "What happened?"

"Trust me," Zero replied as he walked out the door. "You don't want to know."

Kaien looked at Kaname and Yuuki who both shrugged innocently before he said, "I'm going to go see if Seiren needs any help setting everything up. I will see you two there" before he followed Zero out the door.

"We have about an hour until the meeting is supposed to start," Kaname said raising an eyebrow at Yuuki. "What should we do to pass the time?"

"I'm sure you have an idea or you wouldn't have asked," she replied with a laugh. She would ask him about what she had realized earlier, but it still wasn't the time. "What would you like to do?"

"Let's go over to the moon dorm, and I'll show you," he said with a sly smile. Even though she wasn't sure why she needed to go to the moon dorm for him to show her what he wanted to do, she agreed and they too left the headmaster's house.

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A half an hour later, Yuuki was glaring at Kaname across the checkered board between them. Even though he had let her go first, she was down to two pieces while he still had almost all of his. All she had managed to capture had been his stupid knight. _Why did I agree to play with him?_ She wondered bitterly. _I hate this game._

Kaname, however, was unfazed by both her glare and the frustration radiating off her. Even though she was going to lose, she had shown some skill. He just had more experience and was able to trap her in such a way that she had to choose which pieces she wanted to lose. If he could get her to continue playing, she could be good. He was trying to decide if he wanted to end the game quickly or play a little before he finally beat her, when a frustrated growl from Yuuki decided it for him. If he _ever_ wanted her to play again, he needed to end this quickly. A few turns later, he finally had her where he wanted her.

"Check mate," he said with a small smile.

"Oh thank god it's over!" Yuuki said pushing her chair away from the table and moving away from it like it was a snake about to bite her and not a chess board.

"Do you really hate it that much?" Kaname asked in a quiet voice. He hated to think that he had made her do something that she despised just to satisfy his own curiosity at her skills.

Catching his tone, she replied, "I don't hate it . . . exactly . . . but it will never be one of my favorite things to do. But I will do it because _you_ enjoy it. And you deserve to be happy too. A little bit of . . . frustration is worth it for you to be happy."

"Then I thank you in advance for your future sacrifices," He replied with a smirk. "For I _greatly_ enjoy chess."

She fought back a groan at his statement and took his hand to lead him back to the headmaster's house. "Come on," she said. "I need to change clothes before the meeting. Can't be presented to nobles in jeans and a t-shirt."

"Give me a moment," Kaname said, gently removing his hand from hers. "I need to change as well, and most of my clothing is still here." He walked to the closet and selected an outfit. He briefly entertained the idea of stepping into the bathroom to change, but decided that he could just change where he was.

Yuuki was a little surprised when Kaname started removing clothing in the middle of the room, but she wasn't disappointed. Not long ago the idea of seeing him naked, even partially, would have caused her to run from the room in embarrassment, but now she was used to it. Or perhaps not used to it, since she still felt a thrill go through her at the sight of his perfect skin, but she was now comfortable with the idea . . . most of the time. Her reaction earlier still shocked and upset her, but he didn't seem to be mad. In fact, he was almost too patient with her. It was almost like he thought she was incapable doing anything wrong. It frustrated her. If he thought that she was perfect, it meant that he wasn't seeing the real her.

She recognized that he had flaws. And there were things about him that drove her a little nuts, like his ability to be cruel to others, but she understood that he tended to have reasons for his cruelty—most of which revolved around her lately. She also realized that he tended to get melancholy, and that he could be aloof. But he could also be gentle, kind, mischievous. Even though she saw both sides, the good in him outweighed the bad. But it didn't seem like he saw the bad in her, only the good. She decided that she needed to know.

"Kaname?" she asked. When he turned to face her, she almost lost her nerve but decided that she had to ask. "Tell me one thing about me that frustrates you, irritates you, or pisses you off."

At first he thought she was joking, but he took in her serious expression and realized that she wanted an answer. "Nothing you do causes any of those reactions in me," he replied, thinking that was what she wanted to hear. When her expression darkened he knew that he had given her the wrong answer.

"Really?" she asked angrily, starting to tear up. He moved towards her unsure what had upset her, but wanting to comfort her all the same. She knocked his arm away and moved to sit by the window.

"Why are you mad?" Kaname asked, confused at her mood swing.

"Wouldn't you be?" she shot back.

"If you told me that less than a month into a relationship that nothing I did pissed you off? No," he replied exasperatedly.

"That's not what you just did," she spat, frustration creeping into her voice.

"Then what did I do?" he growled, frustration getting the better of him too.

"You aren't' really seeing me," she replied. "All you see is the perfect little girl you _want_ to see."

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "Of course I see you. What makes you think otherwise?"

"You have never been mad at me," she said simply. "Not once in all the time that we have known one another. Not really. Yes, I've hurt your feelings, but you have never actually been mad, even when you had reason to be. I have attacked you, and you just acted like nothing happened."

"Wait," he said slowly. "Let me see if I understand. You're mad at me because I'm _not_ mad at you?"

"Don't say that like I'm insane!" she snapped. "If anyone here is insane it would be you. Any _sane_ person would be pissed off at someone who attacked them for no good reason, let alone someone who did it twice!"

"So you're mad at me because I wasn't upset when you unconsciously attacked me while trying to protect yourself during a fight and because I wasn't angry when you attacked me a little bit ago. That makes perfect sense," he said. She almost smiled as he admitted that her argument had logic. "Why wasn't I angry that the girl who was in fear of her life and had no control of her powers drew blood? Or that the woman who had been raped recently reacted badly when sex got rough and lashed out?"

T hey both flinched as he said that. Even though they both knew what had happened, it was just one of those things that they didn't discuss. And to have him say it so bluntly in the middle of an argument was difficult for both of them, but he continued on, at this point he had a point to prove and delicacy was not going to get it accomplished.

"You're right," he told her, sarcasm dripping from every word, "I should have been livid! I should have yelled at you and told you that you needed to get yourself under control and learn to handle your issues. Is that what you would have wanted?"

"No," she said in a quiet voice.

"I didn't think so," he said a bit more gently. "What would me being angry with you have accomplished? You didn't mean to do it, and you were so upset that you had . . . there was no way I could be angry with you when you were already so angry with yourself."

"I suppose that is one thing about you that does annoy me a little," he continued. "You think you need to be strong and perfect and prove to everyone—including yourself—that you _deserve_ to be with me. You seem to think that being bothered by the traumatic things you have gone through makes you weak, it doesn't. It makes you alive. You don't need to be perfect. You just need to be you."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "It was stupid of me to pick a fight with you about the fact that we are not fighting."

"It's ok," he said with a laugh, hoping that he wasn't about to get yelled at again. "I understand why you did." He saw her glare and started talking again before she could open her mouth, "But you are right, it was not the most intelligent thing you have ever done. If you are done fighting with me, may I finish dressing so that you can change as well?"

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Seiren watched the expressions on the other nobles' faces as they waited for Kaname and Yuuki to arrive. There was a fairly even mix of worry and curiosity. It had been ages since purebloods had called a convention of nobles. They knew that something big must have happened. She sensed it when another vampire moved into the space next to her, but didn't turn to acknowledge their presence

"Why did they call us here?" she heard the other vampire ask.

"You'll just have to wait to find out with everyone else," she replied, her voice cool and reserved.

"But you know, don't you?" her mother asked. "You know what they want to tell us, right?"

Seiren sighed. "Yes, mother, I do know," she finally said. "But I won't tell you. They will be here soon and tell everyone."

"Just tell me one thing," her mother begged, moving in front of Seiren so she was looking into her eyes. "Is what they want to tell us bad news?" When Seiren looked away, her mother knew the answer before her daughter said anything. The pain of the truth had been there in her eyes.

"How bad is bad?" Her mother breathed.

"Apocalyptic," Seiren replied in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

Neither woman had a chance to comment further since right at that moment Kaname and Yuuki made their grand appearance. Seiren expected her mother to return to her seat in the audience, but instead she remained where she was.

Once the purebloods had entered the auditorium, all the quiet murmuring that had permeated the crowd came to an abrupt halt. The nobles that had witnessed the battle between Sara and the Kurans were relieved to see Yuuki alive and well. The ones that hadn't were looking around curiously to see if anyone else knew who the young woman was.

Kaname surveyed the assembled crowd taking in the varying expressions, then began speaking in a voice that was slightly louder than the one he regularly used, but still even and controlled. "I know you are all wondering why we have called you here," he began. "There are two main reasons for your assembly here. For the first, I will have to beg the indulgence of some here and reiterate a few things so we are all on the same page."

"The first thing I would like to do is present to you my sister, and fiancée, Yuuki Kuran." At his words, Yuuki stepped forward and gave a small nod to the audience with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. She was pleased to see that most of the nobles she had already seen returned her smile. However, she was disappointed that—much like the first time—Kaname's announcement was met with murmuring. The snatches of conversation she caught were things like "…didn't have a daughter" and "…would've known about another pureblood." Knowing that there would be no end anytime soon if no one did anything Yuuki reacted.

"If any of you wish to debate my claim," she said, her voice cutting through the murmurs easily, "I welcome you inquiries. _After_ we have finished the meeting. If you still feel it is a valid use of both your and my time, that is."

Her quiet but firm voice unnerved the nobles and while many of them would have liked to see her proof, her manner as she promised it scared them and none planned to ask for it. They didn't really need it anyway. They could sense that she was a pureblood, and she bore many of the Kuran family traits, including those strange wine-colored eyes. Besides, curiosity wasn't worth dying for, which was a real possibility when dealing with a slighted pureblood.

Kaname smiled at Yuuki's words. He hadn't told her to say that, but he was glad that she had. It was a way for her to earn the fear of the nobles who she didn't already have the respect of. He approved, though he suspected that she wasn't extremely concerned of what he approved of at the moment.

He gave her words a moment to sink in, then he continued. "The second thing we need to disclose is of a less pleasant nature than the discovery of another pureblood." He paused again because even though he had planned out his speech, he wasn't sure of the best way to say this and had a couple of versions. Finally, with a sigh he began speaking again.

"I wish there was an easier way to say this," he said slowly. "Or even that there was no need to say this. As of this morning, the hunters have dissolved the truce between us. We are at war with them. They seek to destroy all vampires, not just level E or problem vampires. Peace negotiations will not be successful. We must prepare for battle."

Silence followed his words for a few short moments, then chaos broke loose. Everyone was attempting to ask questions over one another and no one could be heard, so they then tried to talk louder than their neighbor. Soon the amount of sound bouncing around the room was deafening and Yuuki felt her hands instinctively rise to cover her ears against the onslaught.

Kaname, however, simply raised his hands for quiet and waited as the nobles quit talking before he continued. "We will answer your questions now, as long as you continue to ask them in a civilized manner. This means one at a time," he said.

A blonde noble in the back of the room stood and waited for Kaname to nod to him before he asked, "How did you acquire this information and are you certain that it is accurate?"

Though everything in him rebelled against revealing his sources, he knew that this time he was going to have to. "The information came from three friends of mine and Yuuki's who are members of the hunter's association. I am certain that they were accurate and truthful." Again the room hummed with conversation at his words. The purebloods were _friends_ with _hunters_? The idea was unthinkable, but that was what he had said. And why would he lie about something as strange as that?

"Friends?" Zero scoffed in Seiren's ear, causing her to jump. She hadn't heard him come up. "Since when are he and I friends? Unless that word means something different to vampires."

"Maybe he was referring to your relationship to Yuuki," she suggested a wry smile on her face. "Though how he can consider Yagari either of their friends is beyond me."

"Seiren!" her mother criticized. "You know better than to question purebloods!" Seiren had forgotten that her mother was still there and chose to ignore her outburst since it didn't require or deserve a response. Since she had been spending more time with Zero and Yuuki she had learned that purebloods were not _that_ much different from the rest of them.

Another noble had stood and this time it was Yuuki that acknowledged him. "Why would they do this? The treaty is mutually beneficial and has stood for longer than I can remember. Why would they dissolve it?"

Yuuki bit her lip before she answered. "They feel that we are weak at the moment and now is the best time to destroy us forever. With us gone there is no need for a mutually beneficial treaty."

"Why do they think we're weak?" the same vampire demanded. "Nothing has changed."

"Yes, it has," Aidou senior replied exasperatedly. He had been afraid that something like this would happen and that's why they had attempted to establish new leadership. "The senate is no more."

"You mean it was dissolved?" a female noble asked. "On who's authority?"

"Well," Kaname said with a cruel smile on his face. "I suppose you could say they were dissolved." Yuuki felt her stomach tie itself into knots at his tone. It was so cold and callous. "After they made a move of aggression towards my sister and me, I destroyed them."

This time there was no pause before pandemonium swept the auditorium. This time, Kaname was unable to get the nobles to calm down. Their lack of fear in some of the things they said impressed Yuuki and gave her hope that someday they could have a class-free society. But for now there were more important things that still needed to be discussed. Since they showed no signs of stopping on their own, Yuuki closed her eyes and felt for her magic before she stepped forward and released it.

Suddenly the auditorium was silent. The nobles' mouths were still moving, but no sound was coming out. Seiren and Zero exchanged a look, neither of them had known that she had that kind of power. Neither did the nobles because they suddenly turned to look at her in fear. Even Kaname was a little surprised, while he knew that it was possible, he had not taught her how to do that yet.

"I'm sorry I had to do that," she said her regret present in her voice. "But there are still many things that we need to talk about. I know that you have learned many shocking things tonight, my existence being one of them. I understand that it is hard to take in, especially all at once and if there was any other way, we would not be doing it this way. While things have not worked out how any of us would have planned, we have to work with what we can. Though none of us, myself included, want to fight in this war, we must."

One of the men stood and raised his hand. Yuuki looked around and saw that the nobles had settled down so she released the spell as she nodded to the man. "Yuuki-sama," he began. "If you don't want to fight, surely you can resolve this conflict in a peaceful manner."

"well . . . I'm afraid I don't know your name," she said.

"Toya, Yuuki-sama, Ryo Toya," he replied, somewhat flattered that she would care to learn his name.

"Ah," she smiled. "Well, Toya-san, if that were a possibility, I would have already done it and not worried any of you with this. But I'm afraid that it is not. They refused to see reason from three of their own and declared them enemies of the association. There is no way that they will negotiate with a pureblood vampire, and to send anyone else would be suicide. I could not ask that of anyone."

"But, Yuuki-sama," a vampire woman with a toddler asleep in her lap asked suddenly, "surely fighting isn't the only way. Perhaps if we show no aggression they will leave us in peace."

Yuuki shook her head sadly. "They are ready to carry out genocide," Yuuki replied her eyes soft. "And they are used to killing and following orders. If they were ordered to, though they might hesitate, they would kill both you and the child in your arms."

Zero stiffened at the accusation that hunters could kill innocent women and children, but then he though back to how he had been before Yuuki and Seiren. If it had been ordered of him, he would have killed any vampires he thought he could get away with killing. He had been prepared to kill that Level E boy. Maybe Yuuki wasn't as wrong as he thought she was.

"If they are so efficient we stand no chance," Ruka's father said suddenly.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken," Kaname said, breaking into the conversation. "We have set up a couple of training sites here on the academy. Yuuki and I will work with any of you that are more comfortable wielding magic. Seiren and Zero Kiryu will train any who wish to learn more physical means of combat. And though I haven't spoken to them about it, I believe that Kaien Cross and Takuma will be willing to teach anyone who would like to learn and can procure a weapon how to use a sword."

"Of course," Takuma replied with his warm smile. Kaien only nodded. He had no desire to use a sword, but teaching others how to protect themselves seemed like a good use for his talents.

Kaname nodded and then turned back to the nobles. "None of you are obligated to fight, but bear in mind that even if you are not fighting, it doesn't mean that they will not kill you. You are welcome to return to your homes and hope they do not find you, or you are welcome to fight with us."

"We will understand if you need time to think it over," Yuuki added, her smile gentle and her eyes kind. The nobles felt drawn to her in the same sort of way that most purebloods pushed them away. There was just something about her. "You are also free to leave the academy to contact your friends and loved ones to inform them. In fact, I would ask that if you feel comfortable leaving you do so and spread the word to as many as possible and send them here as well. In an hour any of you that either don't need to or don't want to leave can begin training. This will give you time to decide if you want to fight, and if so _how _you want to fight. "

"For now, unless you have any other questions, we will leave and allow you to begin making decisions," Yuuki finished. She and Kaname waited a minute and then headed towards the door.

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**See, I warned you it was massive. But there just didn't seem to be a good place to cut it, and I really wanted to get the conversation with the nobles out of the way. So what did you think? Was it too much, too little? Let me know if you have time.**

**I want to say thank you to everyone who favorited or put this story on alert.**

**Maeko11: Thank you so much! That is what I was aiming for but sometimes I worry that I have too much emotion shown by characters and it gets boring. **

**ChocoVanille: Thank you! I agree with you, I don't think I would handle **_**any**_** of the things she has been through well by themselves, but all at once. . . she's dealing better than I think I would.**

**Sofia Dragansti: I'm glad you found it interesting :)**

**Avenging Neko: Yep . . . poor Zero. I think we've all had those moments though. And even though he's not forgiven, per se, he is on the road to forgiveness. I still haven't decided if Yuuki will ever find out that he was the one that narked her out to Kaien. . . could be interesting. . . And I agree, poor Yuuki. I really feel a little sorry for some of the things that I do to her, and that was one of them. But the kind of things that she has been through don't just disappear and Kaname's hair really didn't help matters :/ . And I'm glad it makes you happy to see updates. It makes me happy to see reviews so I guess we make each other happy.**

**As always, thank you for reading,**

**Stickdonkeys **


	38. Chapter 38

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Chapter 38

Zero and Seiren watched the pureblood couple walk out the door. After they left, the room filled with noise once more. Seiren closed her eyes against the noise. While she wanted to know what the nobles' reactions to all the information they had just received, she knew that she would not be able to handle the cacophony that was surrounding her. She closed her eyes against the almost claustrophobic feeling she was having and flinched as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Once Yuuki had left the room, Zero turned to survey the crowd, slightly curious what they were thinking. But his curiosity gave way to concern as he noticed the tension in Seiren. He wondered what had upset her and scanned the crowd paying more attention to detail attempting to see who or what had triggered her reaction. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary—other than a room that was generally filled with humans being filled with vampires—he turned to ask her what she saw and was surprised to see that she had her eyes closed and seemed to be curling in on herself.

Slowly, so as not to startle her, he moved his hand across the space and put it on her shoulder. She inhaled sharply and turned to face him, panic flaring in her eyes. Now he was more confused than he had been. "You ok?" he asked.

She replied with a curt shake of her head. "Too much noise," she explained. "I can't even hear myself think."

"Too bad Yuuki's not still around, eh?" Zero said, hoping to lighten her mood with a joke. The glare she leveled at him told him that he had failed. "Would you like to go somewhere quieter?" he suggested.

She nodded, giving up on her self-appointed spy mission. She watched as he shrugged away from the wall and turned to follow him when she was stopped by another hand on her shoulder. _Why are so many people touching me today?_ she thought viscously. She turned, prepared to remove the offending hand at the shoulder. Her anger didn't even fade when she saw that the hand was attached to her mother.

"What do you want, Mother?" Seiren snapped; the noise surrounding her irritating her to the point that she didn't care that she was being rude to her mother. She saw her mother's eyes narrow in anger in response to her tone, but there was no other sign of her mother being upset—except for the icy tone she used as she spoke.

"Seiren," she said coldly, "we need to talk. Now."

"Go ahead," Seiren told Zero. "I'll meet you in the gym." He nodded and seemed like he was going to kiss her, but instead just looked at her in a way that made her blush more than if he had just done it. Finally, his gaze left her face and he turned to go. She wondered what her mother would have thought if Zero would have kissed her. Would it have ended with a chaste kiss? There had been something in his eyes that made her think not, but what else could have happened in a crowded room?

"Would you prefer to talk here, or elsewhere?" her mother asked, cutting into her thoughts of what Zero had been about to do.

"Anywhere but here," Seiren replied fervently. Her mother nodded and gestured for her to lead the way. With a sigh, Seiren set off down the hall for one of the smaller, unused class rooms. Once she found one that she liked, she turned to face her mother expectantly. She figured that it was going to be a lecture on showing proper respect for purebloods and she had settled in to listen to it. However her mother's words shocked her.

"What is there between you and that boy?" Her mother asked. "And don't insult my intelligence by saying 'nothing'. Anyone who paid _any_ attention to the two of you would see it."

"I won't lie to you, Mother," Seiren replied. "I like him. I enjoy spending time with him, and intend to do it."

"Seiren," she sighed. "You can't spend time with him. Think of how it looks for the only daughter of high ranking nobles to be seen with a Level D."

At her mother's statement, Seiren felt her temper rise, and not just because her mother had called Zero a Level D. "I don't give a _damn_ how it looks," Seiren said slowly, her anger undisguised in her words.

"Seiren! Language!" her mother snapped.

"I don't give a damn about that either," Seiren retorted. "_Everything_ I have done in my _entire_ life has been for the good of the family. For once, I'm doing something just because it makes me happy. And you couldn't care less that I am because it would look bad."

"Seiren, nobles of your station—"

She cut her mother off with a laugh that was edging towards hysterical. "My station? Mother, there are _no other_ _nobles_ of my station! Everyone is either above me or below me. I have no equals!"

"Exactly!" her mother said. "You and I are a class unto ourselves. There is no way that you can be seen associating with an ex-human, and a hunter at that!"

"_Ex_-hunter," Seiren said acidicly. "And one of the three who told Kaname-sama and Yuuki-sama about the declaration of war."

"He was involved in that?" her mother asked, her tone suggesting that she was plotting.

"Yes," Seiren replied bitterly. "And he really is a close personal friend of Yuuki-sama." She saw her mother's face light up at the fact that the boy who seconds ago was an inappropriate companion is actually a close friend of the future queen of the vampire. Seiren felt disgust well within her. "Does that change your opinion of him?" she asked sarcastically.

"Perhaps," her mother replied thoughtfully, "but even if that makes him an acceptable playmate, do not let it go farther than that. You still need to make a good marriage and he is not to be considered as a mate. No matter how close he is to Yuuki-sama."

Seiren felt her temper flare again, but this time she was unable to push it back down. "Mother," she said in a deathly quiet voice. "I am very fond of Zero and I will not allow your prejudices to dictate my life. If I decide that he is an acceptable mate, I will _not_ be coming to you for permission to initiate relations."

She saw her mother's nostrils flare at her words. "If that's the way you wish to be," her mother breathed, "Then I can remove you from school and you can spend your days at home until a _suitable_ match can be arranged for you. And if that still won't solve the matter, we are in a war and casualties do happen."

Seiren snorted in response at her mother's first words, though it turned into a gasp of disgust at the last suggestion. Once her mother's threats would have caused her to bend to her will, but not now. "I don't really see that working for you," she said smugly. Her mother had just given her all the ammunition she needed to settle this dispute.

"I fail to see why not," her mother replied.

"There are two reasons," Seiren explained. "The first: as you pointed out; we're _at war_. The second is related, but not completely. Kaname-sama and Yuuki-sama have given me a job to do. They want me _here_. Even if you were to force me to accompany you home I wouldn't stay there long. Even if you are above _most_ vampires, two purebloods trump you.

"And I don't believe that either of them would appreciate the things you have said tonight. Yuuki-sama in particular. She is especially fond of Zero. Since they were raised together and he is basically her brother. I wonder how she would feel about some of the things you have insinuated about him. And even if you aren't worried about her, Kaname-sama tends to do rather _drastic_ things when something hurts her in any way."

She felt satisfaction replace some of her anger as she watched her mother blanch as she realized that what Seiren had said was true. She couldn't seem to process the fact that she had just been checkmated by her daughter, but she did process that she was going to have to handle the situation differently if she wished to survive her meddling.

"I assume that your silence means that we are done here," Seiren said turning to go. "Good bye, Mother. I am sure that this is the last I will hear on this subject."

She didn't see the look on her mother's face, but if she had she would have seen a shocked and confused woman. "You've changed, Seiren," her mother finally said.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Seiren said, and then she was gone. Her mother stood there for a moment, attempting to wrap her head around what had just happened before she finally returned to the auditorium containing the rest of the nobles. By the time she did, her mask of control was firmly back in place and none that saw her would have ever guessed that she had just been in a fight with her daughter.

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"Well, that could have gone worse," Yuuki said brightly as the door closed behind them. "They actually took that better than I thought they would."

"You were expecting _more_ of a reaction?" Kaname asked incredulously. "There was nearly a riot!"

"Yep," Yuuki agreed. "I was expecting a full blown riot . . . actually, I'm not sure if the way you confessed to 'dissolving' the senate helped prevent the riot or almost caused it."

Kaname shrugged in response. "It may have helped," he said. "Most people won't risk the anger of someone who has just admitted to mass murder."

"Really?" Yuuki asked rhetorically, a little disturbed by how calmly he used the word murder. "Because I was leaning more towards caused it. Think about it, Kaname. Some of the people in that room were the family of the people you killed. How would you feel if someone calmly and coldly told you that they had killed me, without _any_ sign of remorse?"

Kaname though for a moment and felt anger rise in him at the very idea that someone would kill her, then rage and hurt at the idea that they would gloat about having done so. Upon realizing it, he was slightly ashamed at his behavior. True, he had been justified in killing them, both in the laws of vampires and in his own mind, but _perhaps_ he should have been a little more delicate in divulging that particular bit of information. Though how it was still a secret that the senate was gone was beyond him.

Yuuki watched the emotions flicker across Kaname's face before they finally settled on something that almost resembled embarrassment. Was he embarrassed about what he had done? It confused her, she had expected him to brush it off, but he was seriously thinking about what she had said.

"You may be right," he finally said in a quiet voice. "I may have acted rashly." He paused and smiled at her. It was a full smile, the kind that he didn't often give to anyone, even her. "But you were there to take care of me," he finished. "That really was quick thinking."

Yuuki blushed at his praise. "I just did what I needed to do," she said allowing the conversation to shift. She knew that this was something that they were never going to agree on. And that he would use the same rationale that she had used to silence the nobles as his reason for killing them. She really wasn't in a position to criticize his behavior, because she felt that even though his behavior was wrong, so was hers. Was it really that hard to move from silencing them for the greater good to taking more of their rights, or even their lives? She was worried that over time she might become a callous to the idea of death as Kaname. _No, _she thought vehemently. _I won't let that happen. And if I can, maybe I can make him appreciate the lives of others more . . . eventually._

She was broken out of her dark thoughts by Kaname's gentle voice. "What would you like to do while we give them their hour to mull it over?"

She thought a moment and realized that there _was _something that she wanted to do. "Can we just go somewhere quiet and sit there?" she asked. "Kinda like we did before I knew what was going on. Please?"

"Of course we can," Kaname said, surprised that she felt the need to beg. Perhaps she didn't realize that he would do anything she asked. "I know just the place. Follow me." He took her hand and led her outside and down a faint path into the woods.

She followed him, expecting to eventually see a clearing, but instead she saw a garden filled with carefully tended flowers. Flowers that were all open, despite the night surrounding them. She looked at him, a question obvious in her eyes. She hadn't known that this place was here and this was her home.

"This is my garden," he explained. "No one knows that this is here so when I wanted to be alone, I would come here. It is quiet and beautiful and I figured this was what you were looking for." She smiled at the thought that he would willingly share something so private and personal with her.

"This is exactly what I was looking for," she replied talking about more than just the garden. "Thank you."

He nodded and led her to a covered bench where they spent the next hour doing nothing more than enjoying the company of the other in a peaceful surrounding. It was nice enough that for that hour, they could almost pretend that there was no war going on and that they were free to do whatever they wanted, even if that meant doing nothing at all. For the first time, both of them were content, it was what they had always imagined being together would be like . . . even though they were both still aware that reality had different plans and they would soon have to return to it, they took what time they could and indulged in this guilty pleasure.

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**Here ya'll are, a new update. This one is a little shorter . . . well a lot shorter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it :) Feel free to tell me what you thought about it, even if you hated it. As always thank you for reading it!**

**Yue Matsunoki: Thank you so much! You have no idea how much I love to hear that others love my work! Hopefully you enjoy the rest of the story as much as the beginning.**

**Avenging Neko: Can and avenging Neko be happy? And it was mostly legible. I'm glad you enjoyed that monster chapter. And that it does :) so here is another update :)**

**Wolfofyang: Thank you! I was rather proud of that chapter it is nice to hear that someone else liked it :)**

**As always, thank you for reading or reviewing,**

**Till next time,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	39. Chapter 39

Zero paced the gym, wondering what Seiren's mother could have wanted. He knew that it probably had nothing to do with him, but he hated to think that he had somehow gotten her in trouble. He also had no idea what they were going to do to occupy an hour. He supposed that they could come up with lesion plans; they probably needed to do that. He sighed in frustration and turned to make another pass. He didn't know how to teach. Why on earth had he agreed to this in the first place?

He didn't know how long he had been pacing when he heard her voice. "You're going to wear a hole in the mats if you don't quit that," she said.

"Or I could just change patterns," Zero said looking up at her with a smile. She nodded, conceding his point before she walked towards him with a determined expression on her face. He tensed, bracing himself for her anger, which he could feel radiating from her in waves. But he was prepared to let her do whatever she wanted, he deserved after what he had said to her.

But what he didn't expect was the nature of her attack. She grabbed the back of his head and forcefully kissed him. He was shocked, but was more than happy to oblige her wishes. He kissed her back.

"Well, that wasn't what I expected," he gasped out when they finally came up for air.

"What were you expecting?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you seemed kinda pissed off," he said hoping he wasn't about to piss her further off. "I was half-way expecting you to hit me."

"If I was going to hit you," Seiren said with a laugh, "you would never see it coming."

"I'll keep that in mind," he replied. "So what did your mom want?" He regretted asking the second the words left his mouth. Her mood, which had begun to improve, immediately took a turn for the worst.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said between clenched teeth. She still couldn't believe that her mother would stoop to threatening people . . . actually she could but she was still surprised that her mother had been so open about her threats.

"That bad, huh?" he asked. She just snorted in response so he decided that a change in topic was in order before she lost it entirely. "Maybe I'm a bad influence," he joked.

"What!?" she demanded, wondering if he had heard what her mother had said.

"It's just that you always seemed so in control before you started spending time with me, and here you are about to lose your temper like I tend to," he explained.

"Oh," she said, relieved that he hadn't heard what had been said. It wasn't that she wanted to keep a real threat secret from him, more that the threat had been neutralized so there was no need for him to hear the hurtful things her mother had said. "Well, Mother did say that I have changed. Maybe it is your fault," she teased.

"In that case," he replied catching her mood change, "I'll just leave." He turned to walk away but was stopped by her hand on his arm. He looked over his shoulder at her and was surprised at the tenderness he saw in her eyes.

"Don't even think about it," her tone was serious. "I like the changes, so you'll just have to stay." She looked at him, all hint of teasing gone. "Promise me that you'll stay, no matter what anyone says about us." He looked at her and nodded. She sighed and pulled him into a hug.

He was confused as to what sparked her odd behavior, but could tell that she needed this right now so he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. "I'm happy," he promised. "I don't intend to go anywhere." He heard her sigh of contentment and decided that this might be a good way to spend an hour. Lesson plans could wait.

ooOO88OOoo

Kaname knew it was about time to head back to the nobles, but when he glanced down at Yuuki, who was still curled up against him with her head on his shoulder, he couldn't bear to tell her that they needed to return to reality. She looked so peaceful and happy that he hated to ruin her moment. He sighed.

Feeling Kaname sigh, Yuuki pulled back to look at his face. While it was still more peaceful than she had seen him be in a long time, stress was beginning to re-enter it. "It's time to go back, isn't it?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm afraid it is," he replied with a wry smile. "Unless you want to play hooky with me."

She laughed, a light sound. The time they had spent away from everyone else had done wonders for her mood. "I think that might cause a panic," she said.

"Maybe," he said in a conspiratorial tone, "or they might not notice we're gone."

"Two purebloods suddenly disappear in the middle of a war," she said sarcastically. "Yeah, I see that going over real well. The headmaster would lead the search parties himself. No, we have to go back."

"If you insist," Kaname said standing to help her to her feet. "So, do you think you're ready to help me teach others magic?"

"Maybe," she replied. "I might even be able to teach you a thing or two." He saw the light of mirth in her eyes as she said the last bit and realized that she was teasing him.

"Is that so?" he asked mimicking her joking tone. "Do you think you could defeat me then?"

"I think I might stand a chance," she replied. "It's easier to beat people when they won't attack you."

He laughed again at her statement. "I suppose that would give you the advantage," he conceded. This was the version of Yuuki he loved. She was smart and quick-witted, unafraid of offending him and happy. He wished she could always be like this.

Yuuki was thinking similar things about him. She wished that he could always be like this, so light-hearted and carefree, but she knew that he couldn't. And she understood why he had to be more reserved around others, but she wished he wouldn't do it around her.

"I had a good time today," she said. "Thank you for bringing me here, Kaname."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he replied his politer persona slipping into place as they neared the edge of the forest. "I enjoyed our time together as well. We should do this more often."

"We will," she promised standing on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek before taking his hand and walking back to the auditorium where they had left the nobles.

ooOO88OOoo

As Zero and Seiren approached the auditorium, Zero sped up slightly with the intent of getting the door for her but she stopped him with a hand on his arm. He looked at her and she shook her head.

"Are Kaname-sama and Yuuki-sama in there yet?" she asked. He peaked through the glass in the door and shook his head. "Then let's wait out here for them," she suggested. Even though she knew that she had defeated her mother, she wasn't looking forward to seeing the other woman before she had to.

Hearing the almost desperate hint to her voice, he nodded sliding down to sit at the base of the wall and patting the spot next to him. She smiled as she sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. She let out a sigh that was a mix of contentment, frustration and sadness. She still couldn't believe that her mother would say those things to her. She had always known that her mother cared about appearances, but nothing her mother had ever tried to do had _directly_ lead to her unhappiness. It hurt that she cared more about what other people would think that she cared about the happiness of her only daughter.

Feeling her sigh, and recognizing the sadness in it, Zero placed his arm around her waist and leaned his head against hers. He hated to see her upset, but he knew that she was too much like him in that area. She would tell him when she was ready to and no amount of goading on his part would get the answer any quicker. All he could do was be there when she was ready to talk . . . or when it got blown up into the light, just like Yuuki always was for him.

"You two look cozy," a voice said. Seiren expected Zero to tense up, but was surprised as he just rolled his head lazily to look at the newest addition.

"Are you jealous?" he asked sarcastically. "Because I'm afraid that I'm not going to give you a hug. You might ask the headmaster though."

The older man reached down to ruffle Zero's sliver hair. "That was a good reply," Yagari laughed. "And you controlled your temper this time. Maybe she is a good influence on you." Seiren felt herself blushing even though she wasn't sure why.

"I don't think it was a good reply," Kaien wailed. "I would never give Yagari a hug! I reserve those for my loving family."

"Then why were you always trying to hug me," Zero demanded good-naturedly. "I'm not a member of your 'loving family."

"So cruel!" the headmaster cried. "Yuuki will provide me with comfort," he said catching sight of her and Kaname and running to her for a hug. She stopped him gently but firmly with a hand on his shoulder.

"Zero," she said looking around the headmaster, "are you being mean?" Zero just shrugged in reply. "So that's a 'yes'?" Yuuki asked while the headmaster nodded emphatically. Yuuki leveled a look of disappointment at Zero who squirmed.

"He started it," Zero spat, nudging his head at Yagari.

"I started nothing," he denied. "Zero was the one getting _comfortable_ in a public space."

Zero's retort was drowned out by Seiren's laughter. Her mirth this time received similar reactions as it had the last time she had let it escape in public: it was met with joy and confusion. Yagari hadn't been aware that she was _capable _of laughing; he had never even seen her smile. The rest were curious about what could have triggered this reaction in her, though they knew that she was capable of it.

"What's so funny?" Zero asked.

"You," she replied around her laughter. "All of you. Here we are on the cusp of a war of epic proportions and you are bickering like, I assume, you always have. It's refreshing after all the death and destruction that had occurred lately."

"I agree," Kaname said thinking about how much better Yuuki looked when she smiled, or playfully glared. He much preferred that version of her to the sad angry version he had been introduced to lately. He still though she was beautiful even in despair, but all he wanted was for her to be happy. Recent events had made him question his ability to make her happy. But he would worry about that later, for now he was more concerned with his ability to keep her alive.

"Well, let's get this taken care of," Kaname said when no one seemed to have anything else to say. "The easiest way to do this will be to have them come to us. Kaien, if you will head to the back of the room I will have Takuma join you," Kaname said. "Seiren, Kyriuu, if you will stay by this door on this inside so that the vampires can see you. Yuuki and I will go to the front of the room and we'll see how they decide to sort themselves."

As before, when the pureblood couple made their entrance the talking in the room ground to a halt. Even though this time it took longer since there were many more vampires in the room than Yuuki had ever seen. She even saw knots of people that were dressed less finely than the others—which made more sense to her since they were about to engage in combat practice—and she assumed that they were non-nobles.

Kaname surveyed the crowd while he waited for silence to fall. He had to admit that he hadn't expected this much of a turn out. The presence of so many non-nobles surprised him, but he guessed that war was an extenuating enough circumstance that the nobles felt they should share the information with lesser vampires—he felt sick at the thought. _We were never meant to be stratified like this_, he thought. _True the level E's are a different matter, but the vampires that were born vampires were not treated like this in my time. _Pushing away his dark thoughts he cleared his throat to begin speaking, but was beat to it by Yuuki. He felt a moment's irritation at her, but pressed it down as he remembered that the nobles, at least, were not exactly in his fan club at the moment but that they were in hers. Also they needed to see her as a leader as well.

"Thank you all for waiting," Yuuki said clearly. "I hope that we gave you enough time to consider where you can be the most helpful and to gather your loved ones. We have decided that the easiest way to sort you is for you to sort yourselves. I only ask that you stay where you are until I finish so that everyone can know where they're supposed to go.

" If you want to learn hand-to-hand, make your way towards Zero and Seiren. If you feel more comfortable with swordplay, kindly move towards my adoptive father, and Takuma in the back. And if you want to learn how to wield magic, move towards Kaname and me on the stage."

She stopped speaking and for a moment people seemed reluctant to move. "I promise, none of us will bite," she said with a warm smile. There was a bit of nervous laughter at her words and then people began migrating to their destinations.

Zero and Seiren had, by far, the largest group. Yuuki felt worry go through her as to how Zero would handle teaching that many people. She hoped he could keep his temper under control. _Perhaps I should take his gun from him,_ she thought. _It's not like he will need it in the war anyway and it is better to be safe than sorry._

Kaname, too, saw the size of that particular group and felt a wash of satisfaction that Kyriuu would be useful for something. He still wasn't sure why he left the hunter alive all those times, but he was a little glad that he had since it seemed to please Seiren and Yuuki. This would be a way for the silver-haired man to pay him back. _I really should __**attempt**__ to get over my dislike of him_¸ Kaname though. _Yuuki truly cares for him, and he doesn't hate her so he won't be going away any time soon. Besides, he is no longer my rival for Yuuki's affection. . . _

Eventually everyone was grouped into one of the three groups, except for a small cluster of vampires in the middle, mostly women and children. Noticing them, Kaname made to go over to them and see why they were still in the middle but Yuuki stopped him with a hand on his arm and hopped off the stage.

The group of vampires assembled there parted to let her through. She noticed the look of anxiety on the oldest of the women in the group as she approached. She smiled and tried to look reassuring, apparently she failed.

"Did none of the groups appeal to you?" Yuuki asked gently.

"N-no Yuuki-s-sama," the woman stuttered. "I-I-I just can't bring myself to kill."

She flinched as Yuuki reached a hand towards her, but was surprised as she felt the young pureblood place her hand gently on her shoulder. "I understand," Yuuki replied. "I don't want to kill either. I have to though." The other woman felt her hopes fall. She knew that Yuuki's caring attitude only went so far.

"But," Yuuki continued, "You don't."

"I know I do, Yuuki-sama," the woman began. "Wait, did you just say I don't have to fight?"

Yuuki nodded and gestured around her, "Someone has to watch and take care of all these children while their parents are busy, right?" the other woman nodded enthusiastically. "Would you like to do it?" Yuuki asked.

"Would I?!" the other woman said. "Of course I would! Thank you, Yuuki-sama! Thank you so much!" Lost in her happiness, she gave into the impulse to hug the younger woman. As soon as she realized what she had done, she pulled back, her face pale. The rest of the room held their breath waiting for the consequences that were sure to follow her uninvited contact with a pureblood. What they didn't expect was Yuuki's laughter.

"There are no thanks necessary," the young queen replied. "I was trying to figure out what to do with them and this works out well for all of us." She noticed the silence and looked around confused. "What happened?" she asked seeing all the shocked faces surrounding her.

She looked at Kaname who had left the stage and was now at her side. "Did I do something wrong?" she whispered in his ear.

He shook his head and looked into her bewildered eyes. "No, my dear girl," he said. "You did nothing wrong." Then he turned to address the rest of the vampires. "We have much to do and little time to do it in," he said. "If you will follow your instructors they will show you to the practice areas. Ruka, if you will lead this group to the moon dorms, I think you will be able to find a suitable area for a daycare." Ruka bowed and joined the group of children as everyone else filed out of the room.

Once they were gone, the other vampire woman seemed to lose her ability to stay standing and Ruka caught her before she could fall. "I though I was dead for sure," the woman breathed. "That Yuuki-sama is something else isn't she?"

"You haven't seen anything yet," Ruka said. "Assuming she survives this war, the world will never be the same again."

"I think I might like that new world," the woman said, standing on her own and giving Ruka a smile and a nod of thanks.


	40. Chapter 40

**ooOO88OOoo**

Kaname sighed. He had known that teaching magic was going to be difficult, but he hadn't expected it to by this emotionally trying. He really had been spoiled in teaching Yuuki first. For some reason he had thought that all the other vampires would catch on as fast. That was _not_ how things were going. He had also assumed that the vampires coming to him would have _some_ idea as to how to use their magic. Again, he had been wrong. He had even had vampires come with them that had _no _magic. He found himself wishing he had started his day off with something stronger than coffee . . . like grain alcohol.

Trying to prevent some of his headache, he had appointed some of more advanced students as teachers of the exceptionally slow. They had only agreed when he had promised to try to show them some new techniques later. A few had actually been so practiced with their element that there really wasn't anything he _could _show them. These—he somewhat reluctantly—sent to guard the perimeter of the school, knowing that an attack was possible at any moment. He was thinking that he should have sent some of the others as well, since he doubted they would ever get the hang of wielding magic.

"They are getting better," Yuuki said from beside him.

He glanced down at her with a wry smile, "Yes," he agreed. "Now they can _almost_ hit the target."

She swatted his arm. He raised an eyebrow in response to her swat; no one had swatted him in a _very_ long time. "You're being cruel," she chided in an undertone. "Not all of us have had millennia to learn how to use magic. They are making progress. Besides, we're not entirely sure how to help. Their magic is somehow _different_ than ours so of course it will be slower." Her nose wrinkled at the word "different" and he couldn't help but laugh.

"The only real difference is that there is not near as much of it," Kaname said dismissivly.

"No," Yuuki replied. "I just feels different. I'm not saying that there isn't less, but theirs feels somehow different than yours does to me, I can't explain how, but it does."

"Different how?" he asked intrigued. He had taught her how to feel magic in the air earlier and had begun teaching her how to tell what a spell was before it was activated, but they hadn't gotten far.

"I'm not sure," she said thinking. "It feels less . . . wild. But that doesn't make any sense."

He shrugged in response. "You may be right," he finally said. "Their magic is a little more controlled since they do not have the same limitlessness that we do. They are bound to one element, or in rare cases two elements. I have never paid any mind to the powers of nobles since they are not generally powerful enough to do me lasting harm."

That last thought gave him an idea. He had been wondering how he could teach Yuuki about barrier spells without risking harming her and this was the perfect way. The only foolproof way to test a barrier was to attack it, and he was worried that if he attacked it the attack would be to strong and either hurt her with the magical recoil of her spell breaking, or directly as it passed through. But the nobles, they should be able to test a barrier without this risk. It was perfect.

"Yuuki," he said, hearing in his own tone the calculating quality that he hoped she missed. Judging by the look she gave him, she hadn't missed it. Her next words confirmed his suspicion.

"What are you thinking, Kaname?" she asked warily.

"Do you remember the barrier spells that Sara and I used?" he asked, hating to bring up the battle, but knowing that was the only time she had seen them. She nodded, her eyes narrowing slightly as she tried to figure out where this was going.

"Would you like to learn how to do that?" he asked innocently. "I can teach you."

Yuuki was ecstatic at the offer. She had wanted to learn how to do it since she had seen it done. If she could put up a barrier that no one could cross, she could protect others without killing anyone.

Kaname saw her eyes brighten at the prospect and knew even without a verbal answer that she wanted to learn. "It's simple enough in concept," he said. "All you need to do is envision a solid wall between you and whatever you what to separate."

"That seems easy enough," she said happily. "I think I can do that."

He didn't want to crush her joy, but it wasn't near as easy as it sounded. Even though the initial spell didn't take much energy to enact, _maintaining _it was another matter . . . especially if it was attacked or specialized. That was the other reason he had been so careful in the start of the battle with Sara, she had erected a doubly specialized barrier and maintained it without breaking a sweat. That alone had showed him she was more powerful than he had originally counted on.

"Do you think you're ready to give it a try?" he asked. She nodded eagerly. "I just need to set up one more thing first."

He walked towards one of the more powerful nobles and tapped him on the shoulder. The vampire looked at him. "I need you to do something for me," Kaname said simply.

"Anything, Kaname-sama," the man replied, his face was full of pride at having been asked specifically to do something for a pureblood.

"I will hold you to that," Kaname replied. "I need you to attack Yuuki when I say so."

The man's face filled with shock. Why did Kaname want him to attack his sister? It made no sense. Was this a trap of some kind? Everything in him wanted to ask why, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Realizing that the noble was about to have an aneurism, Kaname decided that he needed to explain himself. "I am teaching her how to form a barrier," Kaname said. "But for her first time, I feel it would be better if she was not defending herself against an attack by another pureblood. No harm will come to you for doing as I ask, I promise."

The man still looked wary, but he nodded his head in agreement. Whatever else Kaname had done, he had heard that the pureblood always kept his promises. Besides, there was no way he was going to break her shield anyway. Or at least that was what he told himself.

"Are you ready, Yuuki," Kaname called.

"Yep," she replied, closing her eyes and concentrating on the wall she was supposed to be forming. She felt her magic flow out and form a semicircle around her, but something wasn't right. It wasn't a free-floating circle like the one around them during the battle had been. This one was still connected to her, and it was still pulling on her magic current.

Once Kaname felt the barrier go up and he checked it and saw that it was solid, he nodded to the vampire next to him. The noble took a deep breath and sent out an attack, which rebounded off the barrier and into the tree behind them. Kaname nodded to the noble again in thanks and approached Yuuki, whose eyes had shot open when the attack hit.

When the attack had hit the shield, it had vibrated through Yuuki as if it had actually hit metal. In surprise she opened her eyes, wondering at once who had attacked her and why. Had it been Kaname? As her emotions sloshed, she lost the tether to the barrier and it crumbled around her. She felt her knees wobble a bit, but managed to stay on her feet.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded of Kaname, meaning the tether, the attack and the sudden bout of weakness that was beginning to slowly fade.

"The best way to test a barrier is to attack it," he explained.

"And what if it hadn't been a good barrier?" she asked.

"I checked first, it was solid or the attack would never have happened," he replied. "And your energy seemed to be holding."

"What do you mean my energy seemed to be holding?" she asked more interested in that than in why her lover had just had her attacked.

"Barriers feed of your energy to remain active," he explained before continuing into more general topics since they still had an audience. "All magic does, but most spells or attacks are over so quickly that you will never notice the drain. If you use enough of them, they will eventually wear down your reserves, but it takes many attacks to do that since your reserves will refill from those small drains quickly. The more magic you use, the faster these reserves fill. Like any muscle, if they are not used they lose strength."

"So the larger the magic . . . the more reserves are used and the longer it takes to recover," Yuuki said.

"Exactly," Kaname nodded. "And magic that requires a sustained drain on those reserves take longer for them to replenish fully. I am going to assume that this principle holds true for non-pureblood magic users as well?" Kaname asked.

Some of the more experienced of the nobles nodded while the novices were glad that there was an explanation for the exhaustion they were beginning to feel.

"Yes, Kaname-sama," one of the braver nobles said. "We do weaken if we use too much magic at once, but the amount it takes to cause weakness does increase over time. I wasn't aware that it was also true for purebloods."

"It is, but we have naturally higher reserves so it is not surprising that you have never seen it," Kaname replied. "Most vampires haven't." _or at least not to the point that we couldn't cover it up,_ Kaname thought. _Or when it couldn't be attributed to something else._ As he though the last bit he was reminded of Yuuki after her attack on Rido. At the time he had thought it was stress, but now he realized that her exhaustion was actually from her massive use of magic.

He wondered at his blindness that he hadn't realized it sooner. Not that it would have changed anything if he had. He realized that he had been silent for too long, since the nobles were beginning to shift restlessly but were afraid to do more since they hadn't been dismissed from the conversation. He was trying to figure out how to dismiss them without seeming rude—for Yuuki's sake—when Yuuki walked to his side and leaned on him, resting her head on his arm which she had also wrapped an arm around. He noticed that he was supporting a good deal of her weight and looked down at her in curiosity

"Everyone's been working hard," she breathed looking up at him. He felt his chest constrict with regret as he saw the weariness in her eyes. "Why don't we all break for lunch and pick this back up later." It was then that he realized that her latest experiment had taken more out of her than she would ever admit.

He nodded and turned to the nobles. "I think it's time we all had a break," he said clearly. "You have done well for a first try. There are food and blood tablets available in the cafeteria and there are signs on campus to direct you there. We will find everyone lodging this evening, but for now I must ask everyone to remain in common areas. We will meet with those of you that I spoke to earlier later this evening, the rest of you may return early tomorrow and we will begin again. I will post the exact time later."

The nobles bowed and made their way back along the path to campus. Once they were gone, Kaname turned to Yuuki. "I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't expect it to take that much out of you. Would you like to go back to your room, I can take you before I take care of some of the organizational tasks."

She read between the lines and knew that "take" actually meant "teleport." She shook her head. The feeling that he should be careful how much magic he used had not gone away, in fact it had gotten stronger. "I'll be fine to walk, but going to my room does sound nice," she said. "I could use a nap."

He smiled at her affectionately. "I'm sure you could," he replied. "It has been a rough week after all." He turned to go towards the headmaster's house when he heard a sound in the undergrowth of the forest. Thinking it was an animal of some sort, he ignored it and continued along the path, still supporting Yuuki's weight, though not as much now as before.

"Kaname-sama," Aidou, who Kaname had sent to patrol the remnants of the wall, yelled as he ran into the clearing. Kaname looked up sharply at his name and he and Yuuki shared a glance as the blonde noble ran up to them. "They're here," he gasped. "We're fighting them, but I don't know how long we can hold them off."

"Take us to them," Kaname ordered, preparing to follow Aidou.

"Kaname," she said, "what can I do to help?" She knew what he planned and hoped that she would be able to help; surely his plan was too much for even him. He looked at her and the normal gentleness in his eyes when he looked at her was there, but it was almost completely covered by determination. Even though he said nothing, she could see it in his eyes. There was nothing she could do to help him with this, especially since her reserves were still low. She nodded her understanding and followed them anyway, running to keep up with the longer strides of the men feeling her body protest as she forced it to do more than it wanted.

Relief at how well she took the fact that she couldn't help him flowed through Kaname before it was replaced with desperation and a little bit of doubt. He hoped he could do what he was planning. He had originally planned to kill them all, but he had remembered how Yuuki had reacted to the senate fiasco once she knew about it and decided that, perhaps, total annihilation was not the best course of action. But this new plan . . . He just hoped he had the power to stop the hunters and keep both the vampires and hunters alive at the same time because if his new idea didn't stop them, he wouldn't be able to kill them.

Soon, they reached the place where the hunters had breached the quickly re-constructed walls. He groaned when he saw how many of them were already inside the walls and quickly added another step to his plan. He heard Yuuki gasp at the sight before them, but he did something that hurt him to his very core: he ignored her. He needed to concentrate to have any hope of accomplishing his task.

Yuuki looked away from the carnage in front of her, looking to Kaname for reassurance. He didn't glance at her, he only continued to stare at the battle field with a look of pure concentration on his face. Suddenly she felt his power wash across her skin and looked at the field to see that all the hunters were gone. She looked back at Kaname wondering if he had killed them or moved them, but he was still focused and she didn't want to break his concentration. She also wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

She felt his power flow out again, this time she sensed the barrier surround them. It ran around the entire perimeter of the academy just outside the wall. She glanced at him in concern, she knew what kind of power those barriers took to create and maintain. And her's had only been a small one while this one was massive she could only imagine the magical energy it took to maintain it. He had his eyes closed and was breathing a little heavily, but other than that he looked fine. The fact that he was mostly fine made her wonder what kind of power Kaname actually had, and how he had gotten it to that level.

Kaname had been expecting this to be an exercise in mental fatigue, but he hadn't been anticipating the physical fatigue that comes from releasing that much magic from his system. He hadn't realized just how small his "immense" reserves were until he wanted them to do the impossible. And he wasn't even halfway there. He wanted to pause for a moment and gather his strength, but he knew that every second he held the barrier the chances of him finishing this diminished. Taking a deep breath he forced the barrier out about five feet. _Now for the difficult part_, he thought wryly.

Yuuki glanced around in panic as she felt the earth rumble beneath her feet. She looked at Kaname and noticed that despite the movement of the earth, he still had his eyes closed. His breathing had become more labored and she wondered if she should attempt to rouse him or leave him alone. A grating sound pulled her attention from Kaname and she felt her mouth fall open at the sight of the ground sinking in as rock began to rise like a wave.

Realizing instantly that this was Kaname's doing she fought the urge to ask him what had happened to the ice dome they had discussed. She felt shock, worry, and what was almost amusement when she realized that Kaname was sweating. She hadn't known that he could do that. But the fact that he was showed that what he was doing was harder than it looked, and it looked difficult. In fact, it was amazing. She watched in wonder as the wall of rock kept growing until it was nearly thirty feet tall.

Then, as suddenly as it started, the rumbling stopped. Yuuki turned back to see Kaname swaying slightly on his feet. She rushed to his side and wrapped her arms around him attempting to steady him but he seemed incapable of supporting his own weight and she couldn't stop him from sinking to his knees. She held him to her as he leaned against her gasping for breath like he had just sprinted for his life. She stroked his hair and muttered reassuring things as she tried to think of a way to help him panicking as she drew a blank. Her panic only intensified as she realized they were attracting a crowd. She knew that Kaname wouldn't want anyone to see him this way, even after such an impressive show of power.

"Yuuki-sama, does this mean we're safe now?" one of the vampires around them asked in an awed voice.

"I'm not sure," Yuuki replied. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what Kaname just did. I have never seen magic like that." Yuuki looked down at the top of Kaname's head and continued stroking his hair. She was pleased that his breathing was beginning to return to normal, but worried about how he would react to being surrounded. She wondered if he was actually doing better or it he was forcing himself to look like it by sheer force of will.

"Nor I," added a blond vampire in the crowd. "It was amazing! He saved us all from the hunters."

"Only temporarily," Kaname said his voice thin and weak. He stood slowly, leaning on Yuuki but trying to make it look like he was affectionately draping himself over her, not fighting to remain upright. He thought he was doing a good job, but no one was fooled. It was impossible for them to be with the fine tremor running though his limbs and the unfocused expression in his normally sharp eyes.

"They will eventually get though the new wall, but by then we will be ready for them," Kaname said, feeling like he was dragging the words from the very last of his reserves. He hadn't done anything like that in a _very_ long time, so long in fact that he had forgotten the bone-deep weariness that followed. But he did remember that only time would cure this. He needed to rest. Maybe Yuuki's suggestion of a nap wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"I would appreciate it if you will take care of the clean-up here," he continued, "Yuuki and I must return to the meeting we left to come here so that we can prepare for the next lesson this evening." He didn't miss the look Yuuki shot him when he said they were going to return and felt a laugh go through him. He understood her concern, there was no way he could teach magic if he couldn't stand, but what was he supposed to say 'I would appreciate it if you can clean up this mess while I go take a nap?' He was sure they would _really_ appreciate that.

Yuuki couldn't believe what she was hearing! Kaname actually thought she was going to let him go back and teach tonight? He looked like a gust of wind would knock him over. She glared at him, telling him wordlessly that it wasn't going to happen. She felt his laugh and wondered just what the hell he thought was so funny. She was about to demand an answer when she felt his pull on her shoulder signaling that she should walk. She almost refused to do it, but decided that probably wasn't best since she could attempt to convince him that he should go rest once they were alone. Besides, she had barely felt his pull and he looked so weak she couldn't fight him if he wanted to get away from the others.

Kaname was relieved when Yuuki complied. He was in no position to force her to go with him and incapable of leaving without her help. He wasn't sure that he would make it back to the house _with_ her help, but he was going to try.

Shuffling together, they moved into the woods and away from the assembled vampires. Once they were out of earshot, Kaname noticed there was a felled tree that was about the right height to sit on. He could hear Yuuki panting a little next to him, and knew that she was struggling under his weight. They both needed to rest before they tried to continue further.

"Let's rest here," he suggested wearily disconcerted by how breathless his voice sounded after such a short walk. She nodded thinking the same thing and together they eased into a sitting position on the log. Kaname immediately stooped forward and placed his elbows on his knees.

"Kaname," Yuuki said kneeling in front of him so that she could see his eyes, "you are not going to go back to teach tonight." She heard steel in her words and hoped that he realized she wasn't going to cave on this. He was _not_ going even if she had to tie him to the bed. She would even get chains if she had to.

Kaname felt a laugh bubble up his throat. She was trying to _command _him and he wasn't even sure that she realized she was doing it. Whether consciously or unconsciously there had been power behind her words and not just the force of an angry woman. It was also amusing since he had no intention of going tonight even before her command.

"Really, Yuuki," Kaname asked in a mock hurt voice, "you would try to compel me to stay against my will?" When her eyes widened in shock he realized that she hadn't know she was doing it. Which actually made the whole thing even funnier. Especially since he still had just enough power to negate her command and could just enjoy the fact that she had done it.

"I didn't . . . I-I wouldn't . . . Oh god," she stuttered. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I just did that."

"Yuuki, it's fine," he said laughing again. "And it might even be useful someday. It's good that you discovered how to use it."

"But I shouldn't have," she insisted. "It's wrong to have that much control over someone else."

"If it was wrong you wouldn't be able to do it," he insisted. She opened her mouth to argue further but he looked at her, his eyes pleading. "Can we talk about this later? I'm too tired to do this right now. And I need to gather my strength, we have to make it back to the main campus or people are going to panic, even with the wall in place."

"Speaking of the wall," she said, "what happened to the ice wall we discussed?"

"I changed my mind when I realized that we didn't have but two ice users who could help maintain it," he said leaning against a standing tree near the fallen log. "And this requires no maintenance. Come, sit with me for a little bit," he said patting the spot next to him.

Yuuki sat next to him and he wrapped his arm around her waist as she laid her head on his chest. "Just for a bit," she said snuggling into him. He made a noise of agreement and felt his eyes begin to drift closed as he enjoyed the feeling of sitting outside with Yuuki against him where everyone could potentially see. He felt her breathing become more even and felt his own match hers. Then nothing more.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**There we go y'all, a new chapter and this one finally explained the mysterious "plan B." Was that what you were expecting it to be? As always thank you for reading and please leave a review if you have time or just have something you want to say. Reviews are what make the writing worth it some days (others it is more out of need to keep my sanity). I love hearing what you think, even when/if you think I suck or should have done something differently.**

**Special thanks to everyone who favorited or subscribed this time around :)**

**Also thanks to ****Yue Matsunoki**** and ****KUKAIxAMU ****for your reviews. They made me smile.**

**Until next time,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	41. Chapter 41

**ooOO88OOoo**

Zero sighed as he looked over the mass of people that had followed him and Seiren to the gym. _Damn Kuran to hell_, he though bitterly. _I'll bet he __**knew**__ that this would be the largest of the groups. That bastard._ Well, there was nothing he could do about it now. He had already agreed to it and he never backed out of something he had agreed to. "Where are we going to start?" He asked in a whisper looking almost desperately at Seiren. "There are so many of them."

"We'll just have to start at the beginning," she replied quietly, her silver eyes alight with mirth at his confusion. It was amusing to her how lost he was when he had people that were eager to learn from him when he had had no problem bullying the day class students. "How do you feel about giving them an exhibition match so they get an idea how hand-to-hand works?"

"You mean you and I fight to show them how it's done?" he asked attempting to clarify her suggestion so that he didn't get himself into trouble.

"That's exactly what I mean," she said with a malicious smile. "Are you game? Or are you afraid that you will be defeated by a woman in front of witnesses?"

Zero didn't really see an easy way out of this. He didn't want to fight Seiren, but he couldn't let her think that he was _afraid_ to fight her. He thought about which outcome he could more easily live with, then nodded, "Ok," he said his voice tight, "Let's show them how it's done. Just you and me, no weapons."

"You're actually going to stick to that rule this time, right?" she asked somewhat seriously. She remembered that he had agreed to no weapons during his fight with Kaname and had reneged on that agreement when he had been angered.

"As long as you don't bite me," Zero replied with a smile.

"I was under the impression that you like it when I bite you," she said with a sly smile. Zero felt a blush creep up his cheeks at her words. He figured that he had imagined the double meaning in her words and broke eye contact before she could see the desire in his eyes.

He cleared his throat before he asked her, "So do you want to make the announcement? I feel like they will take instructions from you better than they will me."

She sighed. "I was hoping that you would talk to them," she said honestly. They really hadn't thought through the teaching assignments well. While both she and Zero were great at what they did, talking to others wasn't one of those things. They really should have paired with one of the more outspoken members of the night class so that someone could explain what they needed the others to do. Someone that was actually comfortable talking to them.

But, she also knew that Zero was right. There were a few vampires in the crowd that would not appreciate taking orders from a Level D who had yet to prove that he knew what he was doing. And a couple more that would not like taking orders from him even after he _had_ proved it. For now, she was the one that had to tell them what to do. She glanced at Zero, her eyes wide with barely concealed panic.

"Don't worry," he whispered stroking the side of her face. "It'll be fine. If any of them give you any shit, I'll kill them." He was halfway joking about killing them, but he was also halfway serious. But it had the effect he wanted, she smiled and gave him a weak laugh.

"We'll just have to hope they don't," she replied. "Especially since loss of fighters in our ranks would hurt our overall chance of surviving this war."

"In that case, I will just maim them," he said returning her smile. She laughed silently as the memory of Kaname's amended order all those nights ago ghosted through her head. _Fine, don't kill them. Just maim them and tell them to come back at nightfall,_ she heard his voice say in her memory. Even though she would never be the one to tell Zero, many of the things he said were things that she could see coming from a more outspoken Kaname. Especially when those things were in regard to the other. Somehow she felt that neither man would appreciate her insights.

"I might just take you up on that," she said before taking a deep breath. _I may as well get this over with quickly_, she thought before she opened her mouth and addressed the group. "Thank you all for coming," she said in a quiet but strong voice. Just because she didn't like public speaking didn't mean that she hadn't be raised to do it correctly when she had to. But with all those eyes on her, it took everything she had not to dash into the shadows that she had spent so much time in.

"There are many things we need to discuss and figure out before we start, but first, this is the group for people wishing to learn hand-to-hand. If this is _not_ the group you intended to follow, or you are not sure this is the group you want to be in, there are members of the night class—the nobles in the white uniforms—that will gladly direct you to the class you were trying to attend." She paused a moment to give them time to move if that was what they wanted to do.

"OK, so I will assume that you are all in the correct class," she continued when no one moved. "We have discussed the best way to begin your education and have decided that we should begin class with an exhibition match between Zero and myself. Once we have finished showing you what trained fighters are capable of, we will work with each of you to attempt to assess your skill level and begin to organize into groups to make the teaching more efficient. If no one has any questions or comments, I would appreciate it if you would make your way to the stands to allow you to see better and to give us more room to spar. Are there any questions?"

When no one spoke, she turned to Zero. "Are you ready?" she asked tilting her head slightly.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he replied before taking her hand and allowing her to lead him to the middle of the room. They waited until the other vampires were all seated and then separated a few feet apart and turned to face one another. They began to circle each other slowly. Both of them were both excited and nervous about the fight. Neither had ever faced the other and Zero had never seen Seiren fight, he wasn't sure what style she employed.

Seiren was aware of this fact and was hoping that it might give her an edge. While she didn't want to hurt him, she did want to—no needed to—defeat him. The first reason was somewhat petty, and she knew it, but she wanted to get back at him for what he had said to her earlier and defeating him in a public forum would make them even in her book. The second was much less about her than about the others: she felt that if she could defeat Zero it would prove to the others in the stands that the hunters were not unbeatable by normal vampires that didn't possess powers. True, Zero wasn't going to be using anti-vampire weapons and the actual hunters would be, but it would be good for overall morale to see a hunter lose. Not that she thought Zero would care to throw the fight even if he realized it.

She watched him as he circled with her, both watching for the first misstep of the other to pounce on and begin the fight. Knowing it was what he was looking for, she allowed her toe to catch the heal on her other foot as she took her next step and stumbled a little trying to provoke an attack.

Zero had seen the calculation in her eyes seconds before she "tripped" and had seen it for the trap it was. He had almost decided not to take her up on the offer when he noticed that the people in the stands were beginning to chat amongst themselves rather than watch. If he was going to fight Seiren, it was _damn _well going to serve a purpose. It was with this thought in mind that he took her bait.

She felt surprised that it had actually worked, but she was only allowed to feel it for a millisecond before he was there and she had to quit thinking about anything other than the fight at hand. And rather than think, she mostly allowed her body to react to what he was doing without processing it.

Zero saw her surprise, but it was soon lost to the feeling of guilt as he felt his fist brush against her. He really didn't want to hit her, but he reminded himself that this had been her idea and that they were just sparring, not actually fighting and that that somehow made it alright. Soon, his brain had to quit processing and begin reacting much as Seiren's had because the fight was moving too fast for him to keep up.

The spectators, which had admittedly been bored with the initial circling and testing of defenses, were not bored now. In fact, the fight in front of them was riveting. The two of them were brilliant, they way they almost seemed to be dancing together. Even the people in the crowd who were not fond of the idea of physical violence had to admire the beauty and skill of what they were watching—it also probably helped that no one had landed a clean hit yet so neither of them was hurt.

Things had started out slowly, no one had any trouble following all the movements of both the participants, but it had slowly degenerated into a silver blur as both of them began to increase the speed and complexity of their moves in an attempt to best the other. It didn't look like either of them was ever going to get the upper hand on the other. However, eventually the whirlwind of vampire stopped with Seiren pinned on the mat by a panting Zero. The audience burst into applause at the conclusion of the fight and were prepared to go to be sorted and excited that they might be able to learn how to do that, but the fight wasn't over.

Zero stood awkwardly at the applause of the bystanders. He wasn't used to people appreciating his efforts, let alone _applauding_ them. He wasn't sure if he should take a bow, or ignore it and try to be an aloof teacher-type. He had almost decided that he was going to ignore it when he heard Seiren's voice.

"Sure," she grumbled. "Some kind of boyfriend you are. Throw me on the ground and not even bother to _offer_ to help me up." He glanced at her in panic hoping that she wasn't actually mad that he had beat her, he was afraid that might be a possible outcome of their sparing, but was relieved to see a smile on her face. He returned it with a small laugh and extended his hand to her expecting her to take it and allow herself to be pulled up.

He was surprised however when she pulled the same trick on him that he had pulled on her. Instead of allowing him to help her to her feet, she pulled him onto the mat beside her and quickly pounced on him, pinning him with a hand on his throat. Surprisingly, he actually didn't mind being pinned by her and lay still to allow her to think that she had won this round.

"This is your first lesson," she called to the assembled vampires still sitting atop Zero. "A fight is never over until the enemy is incapacitated. This can happen either by rendering them unconscious or killing them. The worst mistake you can make—especially in our current situation—is showing mercy to the enemy. Do not attempt to give them aid because there is every chance that it is a trick. Rules of fair play do not apply here."

She paused a moment to let her words sink in before she said, "Now let's get started. I hope our demonstration was educational. If you will form two lines, we will start to sort you based on skill levels and if that goes fast enough, we may begin teaching. If not, we will take a break for lunch and then begin teaching."

Zero thought that she was being way too optimistic. They would be lucky to get through the screening process before dawn. There was no way they would get it done before lunch time. He just hoped that the others were doing better than they were or else there was no way in hell that they were going to be ready to repel the first attack from the hunters.

**ooOO88OOoo**

Kaien walked among the vampires he was supposed to be "teaching" but he realized that there wasn't much actually teaching needed here. Most of the vampires who had chosen this "class" were actually skilled with a blade. A few needed some refinement, but most of what they needed was practice and he could give them that. He actually felt a little useless. It wasn't like he could actually provide any insight into how hunters fought since each of their swordsmen had different styles.

Then there was that little knot of students that actually needed his help. Most of them—there were only about twenty anyway—knew how to hold a sword and could perform a few basic moves, but they would die quickly in an actually fight. It was here that he concentrated his attention.

These tended to be younger vampires, but there were also some adults in the mix. The fear and innocence in their eyes hurt him to look at. Some of them seemed too young to be allowed to fight, but that was between them and their parents. And even if they could later put and age limit on who could be on the front lines, they did deserve to know how to defend themselves if the front line failed. There was one in particular, a young girl with chocolate hair and brown eyes that reminded him of a slightly younger Yuuki. It was when he was correcting her grip that she asked him a question that he truly didn't want to answer.

"Sir," she asked, "is it true what we've been told? Do the hunters really have weapons that will kill us if they can even just touch us with them?"

He sighed and paused before he answered, feeling his age a bit more in his despair, "Not exactly," he said. "We—they _do _have weapons that would hurt more than a cut from a normal blade would. And they do have bullets that are capable of ending the existence of any vampire, including a pureblood. But I am going to work with Kaname and Yuuki to find a way to stop them from using those, if we can."

"So it really is hopeless," another vampire said. "No matter what we do, they are probably going to win."

"No," Kaien said shaking his head speaking to the crowd that had gathered around. "it is _not_ hopeless. We actually do stand a chance. For all their technology, the hunters are mostly human. They die like any other human. Normal weapons and natural disasters will kill them. They are fast, but you are faster. They are strong, but you are stronger.

"The only advantages they have are their weapons and the skills they have acquired. We are going to try to eliminate one of those advantages, but you will have to work to overcome the other if you want to survive."

He paused and then said, "I am not saying that we will not have losses but it is possible that we can win the war." _If anyone ever truly can win a war, _he thought bitterly. _I'm not sure either side can actually win. All this loss of life, over the death of one man. It's wasteful._

As he looked out across the faces, he saw a mixture of hope and the sorrow that he felt. There was one vampire in particular that seemed to mirror Kaien's feelings. He recognized him from earlier. He was the one that Yuuki had spoken with. . . Ryo Toya. Something in Kaien recognized a kindred spirit.

"Keep practicing," Kaien told the girl. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it." She nodded and returned to her sparring partner. Once she did, Kaien walked over to Ryo and asked, "Would you like to spar?"

The other man nodded and raised his blade. "So," he asked, "were you really a hunter?" Kaien nodded waiting for the other man to attack. "And you adopted Yuuki-sama? Did you know what she was at the time or was it a nasty surprise?"

"I knew," Kaien said. "Her mother—both her parents actually—were friends of mine. After they died, Kaname brought her to me and I took her in. She didn't remember anything and I raised her as my own."

"Did the other hunters know?" Ryo asked dropping his blade and staring at the other man. He was impressed, not only had he raised a pureblood, but he had done it in secrecy from his own people, because he doubted the hunters would have liked the idea.

Kaien scoffed in response. "How do you think they would have taken it? Her true nature was hidden from everyone except for Kaname and myself. To the rest of the world she was a human. After a time, I think I even began to think she was."

"That must have been hard," Ryo said. "I have a daughter as well. The thought of her being involved in this war is hard for me, but I can only imagine how hard it must be for you. Especially now that she is a prime target."

"It is," Kaien agreed. "But it is easier for me since I know that she has the skills to protect herself from anyone or anything if she will use them."

"You're afraid that she won't?" Ryo asked genuinely curious. He didn't know much about purebloods, but he knew that in general they would do whatever they could to protect themselves from anything they feel is a threat. . . but so would most things.

"She doesn't want to fight," Kaien said. "I raised her to respect life. I raised her as a human: she doesn't understand that in your world she is above the rules. And she doesn't want to cause pain or death."

"But she has?" Ryo asked. "She had fought and killed. I heard that from the others when we were waiting for her and Kaname-sama to return.

"Yes," Kaien agreed. "She has fought, and she has killed. But the first time, she was only reacting. She was attacked and brought into the fight, she didn't choose it. The second time, she didn't want to fight either, even though she needed to. And in both cases, she waited to attack until it was almost too late. I don't know how she will do now."

Kaien's voice had been choked with emotion at the end. Ryo raised a hand and placed it on the other man's shoulder. "She'll be fine," he said, knowing that the other man needed to hear it even if it wasn't necessarily true. "Now what about that spar you promised me?"

Kaien nodded and raised his sword and bowed to the other man in preparation to begin the bout, but it never happened. Suddenly the ground beneath their feet began to shake. Kaien dropped his sword, as did many of the others so they wouldn't accidentally impale themselves or others in case they were knocked over. The shaking went on for about a minute, then it stopped. Kaien glanced around the room, a few people had been cut, but nothing had been severed and no one was grievously injured.

"Takuma," Kaien called, spotting the blond noble through the crowd. "Take care of things here, I need to see what kind of damage was done to campus and make sure that everyone else is alright."

"Of course, headmaster," Takuma replied turning back to the crowd and examining injuries.

"We will have to have that spar later, Ryo-san," he said before walking outside. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed that there was a rock wall that hadn't been there before. He turned and realized that it surrounded the campus, the best he could tell from where he stood, in its entirety. Even though he didn't know what had happened, he knew that Kaname and possibly Yuuki _had_ to have been involved in this construction project. He just hoped that they were both ok.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**Sorry about the delay y'all. Had a bit of writer's block. I think I'm through it now—it's amazing what re-reading a story will do for you—and updates should get back on some measure of a schedule soon. That said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to reading your thoughts on it in the form of a review ;)**

**And as always thanks to everyone who has read/favorited/or added this story to alerts, and a special thank you to KUKAIxAMU, Kawaii-Cupcake-Sprinkles and Heavenly Hiccup for their reviews.**

**Stickdonkeys**


	42. Chapter 42

**Sorry! I know it has been forever this time, but I promise there was a very good reason and I may have news to share next week when I update (which I will—update that is). I hope you enjoy this chapter as late as it is.**

**ooOO88OOoo**

As soon as Kaname opened his eyes, he knew that he was still asleep. The landscape around him was not the woods where he and Yuuki had taken their impromptu nap, but rather the clearing where they were training the nobles and he knew that he didn't have the energy to have transported them and that Yuuki hadn't learned that particular magic yet. He looked around in curiosity wondering why his subconscious had chosen to bring him _here_ of all places.

A moment later, his question was answered vividly and graphically. Suddenly Yuuki appeared in front of him wearing the same "come-hither" expression she had worn earlier. Despite knowing what the outcome would be, Kaname was powerless to change the events that had happened earlier that day and could only watch as his body was forced to go through the repeating events, including the horror in her eyes that had been there just before she threw him across the clearing. He closed his eyes so he didn't have to see the tortured expression on her face and waited for the blow to fall.

It never came. Instead, when he opened his eyes, Yuuki was frozen with horror in her eyes and disgust clear on her face. He recoiled from her, he had seen that expression directed at him from too many people that he had loved when they discovered what he really was. He couldn't bear to see it on her face as well. He turned away from her, the tears that he hadn't shed earlier burning his eyes. He knew that she didn't really feel hatred and disgust towards him, but he also knew that she should. He was not worthy of her devotion. He was manipulative, vindictive and he was a murderer.

"Just now figuring that out, huh?" he heard a voice say. He turned to face the speaker and saw his mother. Not Jurri Kuran, but his biological mother.

"Mother," he said, surprised at how weak his own voice sounded. "What are you doing here?"

"I've always been here," she replied her voice cold. "I've seen everything you have done. And I'm _ashamed_ of you. To think, I _defended_ you when the others said that you were_ unnatural_ and that we would be better off to kill you before you killed us. Did you know that was why I sent you away? I couldn't bear to have them kill you. But it appears I made a mistake."

"No, Mother," Kaname begged, surprised to hear tears in his words. "Please, please don't say that."

"Why not?" she demanded. "It's true. What good have you _ever _done in this world? How many people have you slaughtered? How many of them actually deserved it and who are you to decide if they did? I can't believe that the little baby that I gave life to could have grown into _you!_ I'm glad you changed your name. You're not my son."

"But I am," he said. "I have always loved you and I miss you."

"Love," she scoffed. "Do you even know the meaning of that word?"

"I doubt it," another woman said. Kaname recognized her voice and felt a sob rise up his throat. She couldn't be here too, it just wasn't fair.

**ooOO88OOoo**

"Ok," Zero said barely repressing his sigh. "Try to hit me." They were _still_ trying to sort out the vampires and it seemed like they were getting nowhere, thought the large groups of already sorted vampires said otherwise. The vampire he was currently facing was fast, and seemed to know what she was doing. He was impressed when she actually managed to land a blow . . . until she cried out in pain and held her hand to her chest.

"Let me see it," he demanded and waited while she looked at him with tear-filled green eyes before she offered her hand to him.

"Don't touch it," she said just as he grabbed her wrist and felt for broken bones. Her hand itself seemed fine so he touched her thumb, ignoring her cry of pain as he did, and felt the two pieces of bone move.

"You had your thumb inside, didn't you?" he asked already knowing the answer. She nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I thought so," he said. "If you'll go right over there, they will splint it so it heals right. You'll be fine."

She nodded again and set off for the side of the room where they had set up a first aid station for the people that were bound to get injured. He watched her leave rubbing his hand over his eyes and shaking his head. _We're __**so**__ screwed,_ he thought bitterly. Still shaking his head he turned back to the line.

"You're up," he said to the vampire at the head of the line. "By now you know the drill." The vampire, this one a male, walked timidly towards Zero and attempted to swing what Zero _thought _was _supposed_ to be a punch. "That way," Zero snarled pointing towards what he considered the hopeless cases. "Next," he called before the other vampire was even completely out of the way.

"Zero," he heard Seiren say and turned to face her, hoping the frustration he knew was on his face didn't make her think he was frustrated with her. "May I have a word with you?" He sighed and followed her glad to be free from sorting for a moment. She led him outside and closed the door behind them before she rounded on him and backed him against the wall.

"I understand that you are frustrated," she said, her face inches from his own. "I am too. _But _you _cannot_ talk to them that way! They are scared and trying to learn something new and your attitude is not helping them to feel comfortable while learning it."

"They should be scared," he replied, not cowed by her chastisement. "They wouldn't last ten seconds against anyone, let alone the hunters."

"Of course not!" she said. "They are not fighters! They were normal vampires that were intending to do non-violent things for the rest of their lives. They weren't intending to get caught up in a war and have to fight if they wanted to live. You have to be patient with them."

"We don't have time for that, Seiren!" Zero shouted. "The hunters are probably on their way right now. Do you think they are just going to sit back and wait for us to be ready before they attack? No! They are going to attack as soon as they are ready in hopes of taking us out before we stand any kind of a chance."

"You're right," she said with a shrug. "They are going to attack, and soon. So how exactly is terrorizing the vampires that are trying to learn going to help?"

"It won't," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't hear what you said. Can you speak up?"

"It won't," he said louder. He ignored the smug smirk on her face and instead of starting a fight said, "Let's get back in there and get this done." She hugged him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek before she followed him into gym and returned to their places. He nodded to the vampire who he was supposed to be testing and was surprised when he bowed before beginning his attack.

This vampire actually knew what he was doing, one of the few that did. He actually landed a few good punches on Zero before the ground began to tremble. Zero was glad that they had decided to pad the floor when the shaking caused him to fall since he had been a little off balance from dodging the vampire's kick. Once it stopped, the other vampire offered him a hand and waited for Zero to pronounce judgment.

"Um," Zero said to buy time while his brain caught up with recent events. "You're with them." He pointed over his shoulder to the handful of vampires that could fight. "But don't go over there yet, we need all need to step out and see if there is any damage to the building . . . or I think that's what we need to do."

"OK," the other vampire said heading for the exit. The others looked at him curiously, they hadn't heard what Zero had said and thought that he was ejecting the other vampire from class.

"Listen up!" Zero called, immediately taking their attention from the leaving vampire. "I think that was an earthquake. Which means that we need to leave the building for now. Once we get outside, I will find the headmaster and see what else we need to do." He stopped there, expecting that they were going to leave since the conversation was over. However they continued to stand there as though waiting for something. "What are you waiting for? GO!" he snapped and they immediately headed for the door in a herd.

"What the hell was that?" Zero asked Seiren as she got closer to him.

"An earthquake," she replied as though it wasn't a big deal. "A rather small earthquake."

"Are you sure?" he asked looking at her. "Cross Academy isn't anywhere near a fault line."

"What else could it have been?" she scoffed. "It's not like—"

They had just stepped outside and when his eyes adjusted to the change in light, he saw that not only had she stopped talking but her eyes were wide with surprise. "What happened? What's the matter," he asked grabbing her shoulders and shaking her slightly. She raised a hand and pointed over his shoulder.

He turned to see what she was pointing at and felt his expression mirror hers. He was speechless, where hours before there had been nothing by sky, now there was a sheer rock face. How had that happened? It must have been . . .

"Kaname-sama," he heard Seiren breathe. "He's the only one that could have done this. We need to find them, he wouldn't have used this much magic without a reason."

"The hunters," Zero replied, feeling the blood drain from his face as he realized that for Kaname to do something this drastic something must have happened to Yuuki.

"No," Seiren replied, having realized what he meant. "That can't have happened." Without another word she took off running towards the clearing where Yuuki and Kaname had been practicing earlier.

Some of the nobles glanced up in curiosity as she sprinted past, Zero following close behind her. "Class dismissed," Zero called over his shoulder on the way by. The vampires looked around for a moment before they shrugged and decided to wander the grounds a bit since they had free time.

Zero had always thought that he was fast, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't catch up with Seiren. He was hard-pressed to even keep the distance between them consistent. He just hoped that she wasn't about to sprint into the middle of a battle. With that thought, he tried to coax a little more speed out of his muscles so that she wouldn't be alone for long. He needn't have bothered. The clearing was empty.

"They're not here," she said looking at him. The lost expression on her face made Zero's chest ache.

"I'm sure they're fine," Zero replied trying to reassure her even though he realized that at least one of them probably wasn't fine. "They probably just headed back to the house."

She shook her head. "No," she said her voice edging toward panic, "we would have run into them. That is the path back. What if—"

"No," he stopped her with a finger against her lips. "We're not going to play the 'what if' game. We know that as of ten minutes ago Kuran was alive, because there is _no_ way that Yuuki has that much power. Freaks the shit out of me that _he_ does. Anyway, since he was alive, I am certain that Yuuki is too since we know the kind of things he will do to people that try to hurt her. We just need to find them."

"And how are we going to do that?" Seiren asked wearily her shoulders drooping. Zero had never seen her like this and he wasn't sure that he liked it. She was always so strong and sure of herself and one little setback defeated her. Something was wrong.

"We look," he said. "Let's go this way." She just nodded and followed him off into the woods in the direction he had indicated without even asking why he wanted to go that way. Something was definitely wrong with her and Zero fully intended to find out what it was.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**So, what did you think? Let me know what you think is going on with everyone. Thank you for reading this chapter and thank you in advance for your reviews ;).**

**As always thank you to everyone who favorated or subscribed to this story (you know who you are).**

**And a special thank you to:**

**BookWorm Missy: I'm glad you enjoyed it, I was a little worried that he was a little over the top.**

**Guio: See, I continued. Sorry it took so long :/**

**KUKAIxAUTUMN: I am probably reading ****way**__**too much into your comment. . . Anyway thank you for it.**


	43. Chapter 43

Kaien ran as he attempted to find his children and the vampires that were bound to be with them. He had already been to the gym looking for Zero and Seiren and had been told by one of the vampires there that they had left about ten minutes before though he hadn't been able to tell Kaien _why _they had left. Kaien had assumed that it was on the same mission he was on: finding Yuuki and Kaname.

Knowing that this was most likely their goal, he had then gone to the clearing where Kaname and Yuuki had set up lessons, but it was devoid of all life. There were two trails that lead from the clearing in addition to the main path, both fairly fresh. He didn't know who had made them but something told him that one belonged to Zero and Seiren and the other to Yuuki and Kaname.

He looked at both the paths carefully, but could find no indication as to which pair of vampires had taken which trail. In the end, he decided that it didn't really matter who had taken what path because they both seemed to be going in the same direction and he needed to find both groups. In the end, he chose the path on the left, which, incidentally, was the path that Yuuki and Kaname had taken earlier that morning. He followed the disturbed leaf litter and realized that whoever had come this way had been in an exceptional hurry because of the distance between the disturbances.

He briefly wondered if they had been running towards something or away from it before rejecting the first possibility. None of them, except _maybe_ Yuuki would run away from a fight. They were still young and hadn't learned that sometimes the best thing to do is to leave rather than to fight it out. He hoped that they would live long enough to learn that.

He continued along the path until it branched and he debated which fork to take but decided on the more well traveled of the two. After a few more seconds he exited the forest and found himself looking at the bloody aftermath of a battle of some kind. He looked around wildly hoping that he wouldn't see anyone he knew among the bodies. He did, but they weren't laying among the injured, rather they were moving through them.

"Aidou," he called, attempting to get the blond noble's attention. He looked up at his name and his eyes lit with confusion as he caught sight of the headmaster. He made his way carefully through the carnage until he was at Kaien's side.

"What can I do for you, Headmaster?" Aidou asked, genuinely confused. The headmaster had never spoken to him directly that he could remember and he wondered what had sparked this conversation.

"Have you seen either Yuuki, Kaname, Zero or Seiren?"Kaien asked, fighting the urge to grab the younger man by the shoulders in his quest for knowledge.

"Have I ever!" Aidou breathed. "Kaname-sama and Yuuki-sama were here about five minutes ago. It was amazing! I knew that purebloods had powers we couldn't imagine but . . ."

"What happened?" Kaien demanded wondering if the poor boy had lost his mind. "The hunters attacked, and while the others tired to hold them off, I went to find Kaname-sama hoping that he could do something. We were getting slaughtered. Anyway, I led him and Yuuki back here and then . . . Kaname teleported the entire hunter forces away before erecting _that_." His last words were said with a gesture at the wall.

"Kaname did that?" Kaien asked, though he had already suspected that Kaname had been the one to do it since he doubted Yuuki had the control necessary to do it even if she had the raw power necessary for such a task. "And then what happened?"

"Nothing," Aidou replied shifting uncomfortably under the gaze of the headmaster. "Once he finished, he asked us to clean up here and he and Yuuki left."

"Which way did they go?" Kaien demanded. "I need to find them; there are things we need to discuss."

"They went that way," Aidou said pointing back the way Kaien had just come. Kaien rubbed his eyes, if they had gone that way, he should have run into them on his way here. His mind suddenly jumped to the fork in the path that he decided not to take.

"Thank you," Kaien said before running back into the woods to take continue his search for Kaname and Yuuki. As he watched the headmaster leave, Aidou wondered if he should have told the older man about how much raising the barrier had taken from Kaname, but he still felt that it was something he should never mention again . . . if he wanted to live.

The strange behavior of the young noble was lost on Kaien as he now had a clue as to where to search for his daughter and her . . . lover. Kaien fought back a shiver at the last word. But he could no longer think of Kaname as her brother now that he knew the truth, even though he knew that he _was _her brother. But nothing could have prepared him for the site that awaited him when he did find them.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**Sorry ya'll I know that is a crappy place to leave a chapter, but it was the best place for me to end it this time if you wanted an update this week. Besides, cliffhangers can be good motivation for an author so that our readers don't hunt us down and kill us. **

**And not to say that any review is more important than any other, but the next reviewer will be number 200 and I will do something nice for whomever that may be. I will send a PM to whoever that happens to be :)**

**And thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter as well as read this one. **

**Stickdonkeys.**


	44. Chapter 44

Kaname stood and turned to face the new torment his subconscious had decided to visit upon him hoping that he was wrong about her identity: he wasn't. Standing there was the woman that he had loved and had sacrificed herself in his place all those years ago. Of all the people from his past that his mind could conjure _why_ had it chosen _her_: she to whom he owed his very existence? The injustice of it made him want to scream his frustration to the heavens. Instead he took a deep breath and tried to sound as though he wasn't haunted by the memory of her death.

"I disagree," Kaname said calmly. "I know love and I know the sacrifices it sometimes requires us to make."

"What do you know of sacrifice?" She demanded bitterly. "I gave my life so that you might live and help protect the humans from us. And what have you done with the life that I gave you? Have you actually lived it? No. The first chance you got, you went into hibernation."

"Because I missed you!" he argued. "I couldn't stand to live in a world that didn't have you in it. Did you ever consider that!? Did it occur to you that I would have rather died that lived without you? Did you even think to ask me?"

"Why would I have?" she asked her pale eyes cold. "We both know that you are too much of a coward to give your life for another. Especially another than you had never met. One of us needed to do it and I knew that you were too weak to."

"I would have done it," he whispered emotion filling is voice again. Her words hurt him. Even though he knew that he was a coward the fact that anyone else did was too much. "I never meant for you to do it. If I had known that you would have . . . I never would have done all those experiments in the first place."

"See," she scoffed, "that is exactly what I am talking about. You are too weak to make the hard choices. If you were actually strong you would have followed me when you were tired of living rather than hibernating as you did. You _should _have walked right into the association and offered to make more hunters before throwing your heart in to join mine."

"Perhaps," Kaname agreed. "But I felt that it would lessen your sacrifice if I did."

"You have always had an answer for everything. Have you not?" she sneered.

"Yes," his mother agreed. Kaname looked between the two women he had loved before they died and felt his heart sink. He now understood a little of how Rido had felt being ganged up on by two purebloods. Though these two were not attempting to kill him physically, the way they brought all his darkest fears about himself to light made him wish they were.

"Even when he was a child," his mother continued, "If anything ever went wrong he had a way to explain it that made him look like he was not at fault. I should have known then what he was."

"A vampire?" the Ancestress suggested.

"No," a third voice—this one male—said. "A sociopath. Just like me."

**ooOO88OOoo**

After Zero and Seiren had left the clearing, they had wandered in the woods for a while with Seiren simply following where Zero led. He wanted to ask her why she was behaving like she was. This subservient and opinion-less Seiren was not what Zero was used to seeing—even when she was deferring to Kaname she still took decisive action at times without waiting for instructions.

"Let's go this way," he suggested preparing to take a random turn. He knew that he should have started searching in a grid pattern of some kind, but his worry for Yuuki—and by extension Kaname—drove all thoughts of a logical pattern from his head and lead to the kind of searching he knew was likely to fail, but he couldn't bring himself to retrace his steps and lose time that way.

Seiren nodded so Zero started off in the way he had suggested. He sighed wishing that she would help him somehow. Blundering around in the woods was something he could do alone. He figured that as a higher ranking vampire, her senses were probably sharper than his own. There _had _to be_ something _else she could do to help other than just following him around in his blind search. When her hand grabbed his arm, he had a flash of fear that she had somehow heard his inner tirade and turned to face her with his violet eyes wide in shock and an apology ready on his tongue.

But she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were closed and she had her head raised as though she were attempting to smell something on the still air. Apparently she found whatever scent she was looking for because when she looked back at him her eyes had lost the flat look they had had in exchange for their usual life and there was a smile on her face.

"This way," she said before jogging off in the opposite direction he had suggested without releasing his arm causing Zero to have to run to keep up with her.

"Are you sure?" Zero asked a little breathlessly as he attempted to keep pace with her rather than allow her to dislocate his shoulder.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, her smile smug. "I'm sure," she replied. Seeing his discomfort at the way she was pulling him along, she released his arm and slowed her pace a bit. It surprised her that she could run faster than he could when he could keep up with her—and was actually a little faster than her—at combat maneuvers. _But I suppose hunters don't run from anything, do they_, she thought with a bitter laugh.

"What's funny?" Zero asked. While he was glad that she was behaving more normally again, he was worried that it wouldn't take much to push her back to the withdrawn state she had been in moments before.

"Absolutely nothing," she replied with a smile. His face showed the confusion he was feeling. That was one thing she liked about Zero, once you got to know him the emotions he felt were right there for you to see. You never really had to guess _what_ he was feeling. _Why _he was feeling it was another matter, but he would _usually _tell her if she asked.

"Then why were you laughing?" he asked. Seiren sighed. She didn't want to tell him the truth and she didn't want to lie, not about something so small. Thankfully she was spared from doing either since they had broken through the forest and into a clearing. And there, leaning against a tree, were the sleeping forms of Kaname and Yuuki.

**ooOO88OOoo**

"I am _nothing_ like you," Kaname snarled turning to face the newest addition to the pick-on-Kaname convention. "How dare you say that? You, who _torture_ others for your own amusement, even your own family."

"And you don't?" Rido demanded. "I seem to recall a little incident where you and Sara tortured _me_."

"That was not the same thing," Kaname spat. "And you know it. That was retribution, not amusement."

"really?" Rido asked examining his fingernails as though the conversation bored him. "You seemed to take a lot of enjoyment from something that was "retribution." I'll let you in on a little secret, Kaname. Deep down, you and me, we're a lot alike. Even _she _sees it. It wasn't your appearance she was reacting to today: It was your soul."

"You're wrong," Kaname said, though his words lacked conviction since he had thought the same thing earlier when Yuuki had pointed out his callousness towards the deaths of the senate. "I would never kill her if she decided that she loved another more than she loved me. Unlike you."

"I _never_ intended to kill Juuri," Rido snapped his mismatched eyes blazing. "I just wanted to eliminate the competition for her love."

"Your brother and your niece?" Kaname scoffed. It was easier for him to remain normal when he was attacking the poor choices of others rather than being attacked for his own. "Because that is much nobler thing that killing her. How did you expect her to love you after you killed her husband and children?"

"At least I was willing to get my hands dirty," Rido sneered. "_I_ didn't expect someone else to kill the man that was in _my_ way and in the process harm the woman I loved."

"No, you killed her," Kaname replied sadness washing through him anew from the death of Juuri and Haruka.

"Not I, Kaname. You," Rido accused. "You knew what she planned to do and you didn't stop her. Even though you were in the body of a child your powers had awoken, as evidenced by the fact that you destroyed me. But instead you allowed Haruka to face me and be killed and for Juuri to sacrifice herself for Yuuki; effectively eliminating all the competition for her love and allowing you to take it all. You _could_ have prevented all of this from happening if you weren't a purely selfish being."

"You're wrong," Kaname said feeling the color drain from his face at the accusation that he had tortured himself with the night of their death. "I couldn't have killed you."

"Who said you needed to kill me?" Rido retorted. "In the end you effectively _destroyed _me. It took me ten years to come back. If you had done that in the first place, you and Juuri and Haruka and Yuuki would be a happy family right now. Hell, you might even have another sibling by now.

"But instead, it is just you and Yuuki, the last of the Kurans, poised to take the throne of the vampire world. That is, if there's a vampire world left once the hunters get through with it. But population control and all of that. Anyway, now the two of you are alone and she _needs_ you. How can you tell me that you didn't orchestrate it that way?"

"I would never have done that to her," Kaname said. "I love her, I have ever since she was born. Everything I have done since then was _for her_. I have tried to make our world safe enough for her to live in it rather than be locked up her entire life."

"And you've done it through the sacrifices of others," the Ancestress accused. "Others like me. What have you _ever _given up to accomplish your goals?"

"I gave up you," he replied.

"You are wrong. _I_ gave up myself," she said. "And you truly lost nothing. You replaced me. And I can understand that, she is pretty."

"I did _not_ replace you," Kaname breathed. "Yes, I moved on. But I did not replace you. What would you have had me do? Spend the rest of my life miserable because you were gone. I did that for 10,000 years! Are you really so petty that you will fault me for finding happiness after that much time."

"It just shows that you never cared," she replied. "I was just another pawn in your schemes. If you had really loved me you would have died rather than live without me."

"That's not love. It's obsession," Kaname replied shaking his head sadly.

"Much like your obsession with Yuuki?" Rido added snidely. "What was it you said? Something about everything you've done being for her. Sounds like an obsession to me."

"It's not," Kaname declared. "this is different."

"Everything is always "different" because it's you is it not?" his mother asked. "It was the same when you were a child. Things that most people know are wrong were fine for you to do: like sucking the life out of your siblings for your own sustinacne. How did you justify that?"

"They weren't actually harmed," Kaname said, his voice and eyes begging her to understand. "I had to do it to live."

"Then you should have died," his mother yelled. "The fact that you could not live without taking from others should have been your first sign that you were not meant to live. But you selfishly clung to life and you have done it for ages. You still continue to live at the expense of others. Do you honestly think that the hunters would continue the war if you were dead? Through your death you would save many lives, including Yuuki's. Should you not give yourself to them? Is your life worth all the deaths that will happen in a vain attempt to salvage it? I know what _my _son would do. But you, Kaname, what will you do?" When she had finished speaking, she began to fade before she disappeared into nothingness, though the feel of her eyes remained on Kaname.

"I know what I would do, as do you," the Ancestress said before she too disappeared."But what will you chose, Kaname?"

"Don't listen to them," Rido replied. "They're different from us. You and me, we're survivors." With a final smile at Kaname, Rido disappeared like the women before him.

Once they were gone, Kaname sunk to his knees with his head in his hands. _They can't be right about me. I'm not the way they say I am. I'm not weak or a coward. I have many flaws but that is not one of them,_ he thought desperately. _They can't be right._ No matter how many times he repeated it, he could seem to convince himself of it. Hearing things like that from people that had looked up to, like his mother and his first love, made them sting worse than he had though it possible for words to hurt. And hearing Rido, the man he hated above all others, agreeing with them about him. He just couldn't process it. But despite all his thoughts otherwise, one though was louder than the others and refusing to be silenced: what if they were right?

**ooOO88OOoo**

**Well, there we are Ya'll another chapter down :). I hope you enjoyed it. And as usually, don't worry all will eventually be explained. As always thank you for reading this chapter and thank you in advance for your reviews.**

**Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter or added this story or me to your favorites or alerts :) It really does make my day.**

**And a special thank you to:**

**Fredombutterfly: I'm sorry it was so short, but I do have a longer one up this week :) and thank you for being review 200. There should be a PM in your box now.**

**Sy: Here we are, a new update for you. I'm sorry this one doesn't answer all the questions yet.**

**BookWormMissy: You're welcome and thank you for reviewing again. And you'll just have to keep reading to find out muhahahahahhahahaha! And thank you very much! I love hearing that people like my writing.**

**Akira91: Thank you and don't worry, you can always be number 300 (maybe, I'm not sure it'll get that many)**

**God of all: Thank you, and here's a continuation.**

**Happygolucky: Thank you so much! I always love hearing that people enjoy my efforts. Hopefully you like the rest of the story as much as you have liked it so far.**

**Wow: Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoy it.**

**ShioriBunny: I'm sorry I don't update faster. I do try to get a new one out every Friday before $ but that doesn't always happen (this is US central time). But I am glad that you love the story :)**

**Elliot Rose: Wow you are a prolific reviewer! I love it! Thank you so much. I love to see what people think at the end of each chapter. I try to keep people in character, at least at the beginning of a story because the events of the story may make that impossible in the end. And I'm glad that you liked the sword idea :). Kaname is one of my favorites as well . . . or at least in the anime and early manga, the latest chapters he's kinda meh. And I tried to make it realistic. I hate reading stories (even about supernatural things) where there are moments of "there is no way that could happen" that shock you out of the story. And I'm sorry that it is keeping you from sleeping that was never my intent :( other than that, I am glad that you are enjoying my take on characters and situations. I really do love hearing that people have enjoyed my writing.**

**KUAKIxAMU: thank you :)**


	45. Chapter 45

At the sight of the peacefully sleeping purebloods, Seiren felt the feeling that a fist had been squeezing her heart lessen. Even though, as Zero had pointed out a handful of times, the purebloods were more than capable of taking care of themselves, she had been appointed to watch out for Kaname and if he had been hurt . . . if she had failed. . . she wouldn't have been able to live with herself. She only had one job, and she had let it become a back-burnered thing because of circumstances that _should _have brought it more solidly to the front. If something had happened . . . no, she wouldn't think that way. Nothing had happened and nothing was going to happen. She would make sure of that.

She could feel the determination that had re-infused her being radiating from her very pores as she walked towards the sleeping purebloods. She was almost to them when Zero's called to her and she turned to look at him over her shoulder.

Zero flinched at her gaze. It lacked the warmth he had come to expect from her. In its place was the same cool callousness that had been present in her eyes the time she had threatened to kill him at Takuma's birthday party. He didn't like seeing her look at him that way now, not after all that they had shared. She hadn't even looked at him like that when she stormed off after their argument in the gym. It shocked him enough that he forgot what he had wanted to tell her.

When Zero had been silent for too long, Seiren sighed and turned to face him fully. "What do you want, Zero?" Her tone was a cool as her eyes.

Swallowing hard, Zero took a deep breath and said, "I was just going to tell you to be careful. I was thinking about the last time one of them was unconscious after using a lot of magic."

Seiren started a little, she hadn't thought about that in her haste to wake her master and his sister. It had never occurred to her that they might be a danger to her. "Thank you," she said though her words and her face lacked the appropriate emotion to make it mean anything.

"Anytime," Zero replied, his tone colored with confusion. He didn't know what was going on with her today, but from what he had seen of her previously these mood swings were not normal. She just nodded to acknowledge his statement, and then she turned and continued her approach to the purebloods, though it was admittedly a more caution filled trek.

Zero held his breath as she got within feet of the couple. He wanted to be there beside her, but he wasn't sure if she would be glad of his company or try to find out if she could kick him all the way to the wall from where they currently were. Since he wasn't sure what to do he stayed where he was, hoping that she would be fine.

Seiren closed her eyes as she neared the purebloods. She knew that at any second she might be destroyed, but she had to keep going. They needed her. She couldn't abandon them. She opened her eyes when she bumped into something that gave. She looked down and was embarrassed to realize that she had almost tripped over Kaname's leg. _Well,_ she thought with a small smile, _at least I am still alive. Though it's a good thing we found them first, they didn't even lay any protection before they fell asleep. They were completely vulnerable. _

She knelt down beside her master and shook his shoulders in an attempt to wake him. She had been given this task before and knew that if he did not wake up when you entered the room or spoke it would take physical stimulation to wake him. She also knew from experience that he did not always wake in a good mood. He did not respond to her attempts other than to mumble something that made no sense. It didn't even sound like any language she had ever heard.

Giving up on waking him for the time being, she turned her attentions to Yuuki. She remembered how difficult the girl had been to wake and that Kaname had said that she had awoken violently in the past. Keeping both of these things in mind, it was with some trepidation that she placed a hand on the young woman's shoulder and gave her a nudge. Yuuki moaned in response and stretched her arms above her head sleepily before she opened her wine colored eyes.

Yuuki opened her eyes, expecting to see her room around the smiling face of Kaname. She was confused when instead of this image she was presented with the impassive face of Seiren surrounded by trees. She also realized that she was not in her bed, but rather, sleeping on something hard. She glanced around her and realized that she was _in_ the forest asleep on a tree.

"What happened?" she asked sleepily. " What am I doing here?" No sooner had the words left her mouth than the events that had lead to her taking a cat nap in the forest returned to her in full force. Her mind filled with images from the previous day and she remembered that they had stopped to rest after Kaname . . . where was Kaname?

She felt a brief flare of panic that served to clear her head and she looked beside her where he had been earlier and let out a sigh as she realized that he was still there.

"We were hoping you could tell us," Zero said, approaching the group. His curiosity had won out over his desire to give Seiren her space if that was what she wanted. Besides, he deserved to know if his best friend was fine. "Looks like you two were up to one hell of a landscaping project while the rest of us were doing the grunt work of training your army."

Yuuki smiled at him, not bothering to try to conceal her fangs. "Fine," she replied. "Next time we can trade. I'll teach the vampires to kick ass and you can erect the thirty foot solid-stone barrier to give me the time to do it."

"So you really did have a hand in that?" Zero asked, awe present in his voice. He hadn't wanted to believe that Yuuki had that kind of power.

She laughed sadly and shook her head. "Nah," she said. "I had already been wiped out by a simple little barrier. Kaname did all of that."

Zero blew out a breath. He didn't like that answer any better. While he didn't want to know that his childhood friend had that kind of power he had to figure that it would be less disconcerting than to know that the man that he perpetually locked horns with was capable of something like that. It made him wonder why he was still alive after all the times he had pissed Kuran off. Especially since he actually _did _have more than enough power that he could have blasted Zero into next week for the next couple of millennia without breaking a sweat?

"So is that why he's, you know . . ." he cut himself off. The word he had been about to say had been "comatose" but it wasn't a word that he wanted to use for fear of upsetting both Seiren and Yuuki. "sleeping?" he finished lamely.

Yuuki nodded. "Using a lot of magic makes us sleepy," she explained. "And he just used _a lot_ of magic." She gently stroked her lover's bangs away from his face. For some reason, despite the fact that he was asleep, his face was troubled. She wondered if he was having a nightmare.

"So what are we going to do?" Zero said. "He won't wake up. And we can't take him back through the main campus like this. The nobles will have an aneurism."

"He can't sleep here," Yuuki said. "The nobles will just have to get over it. He saved their lives and he deserves a rest under a roof in a real bed."

"Yuuki-sama," Seiren said quietly. "I hate to disagree with you, but most vampires think of purebloods as a precious commodity that needs to be protected, not that does protecting. But they also think of you as indestructible and infallible. We need to preserve the latter two if we are going to keep morale up and win this war. Seeing an incapacitated pureblood would devastate the people."

"Then what are we going to do?" Yuuki demanded. She understood what Seiren had said, but that didn't mean that she had to like it. She was tired of being both an object of almost god-like deference to her wishes while at the same time being shackled to the expectations and wishes of the general population. If she was so all powerful, shouldn't she be able to do what she wanted without people freaking out if she didn't behave exactly as they expected.

"I have an idea," Zero said. "It's not a good idea, but it may work."

**ooOO88OOoo**

On the other side of the wall, the new president of the Hunter's Association walked among the wounded from the first skirmish with Cross and his pet purebloods. He refused to think of it as a battle since that would mean that he had lost the first battle. The physical wounds were minor—a cut here, a scrape there—but there were psychological wounds that he wasn't prepared to deal with.

"Sir," one of the hunters that had appeared on the other side of the barrier unharmed said.

"Yes?" the president replied, turning to face the man. He didn't know his name but he didn't bother to ask either.

"I have a question, sir." The hunter said. The president fought to restrain his sigh but couldn't contain his impatient gesture. He had places that he needed to be. Talking to this man was not one of them. Seeing his leader's rush, the man said, "Why? Why didn't they just kill me? When I was teleported away from the battle, one of the vampires was about to run a sword through me. Why didn't they just let her do it?"

The president did sigh this time. He had been getting this question from many of the survivors of the battle. That and why they had also transported the corpses of the dead to the other side of the wall. In truth, he didn't know—though he was sure that Kaien Cross had some hand in the transport rather than killing of hunters. He couldn't see a pureblood vampire willingly expending more energy in an attempt to preserve the lives of those trying to kill it. More than anything else that had happened, this fact alone solidified his belief that they needed to eliminate Cross and his pets before they decided to eliminate the hunters.

He had been saying it for a very long time and to have it proved to him in such a concrete way only served to show him that he had been justified in killing the former president. If he hadn't done it and framed Kaname Kuran for the murder, it wouldn't have been long before Kaien Cross started this war himself through an unannounced attack on the Association with that pureblood "daughter" of his. They were simply too dangerous to be allowed to live. And he wasn't alone in that belief.

"They did it to confuse you," he told the younger man, patting his shoulder sympathetically as he had all the others. "They wanted you to think that you were wrong to attack them and lower your guard so that they can kill you more easily. It is part of their nefarious plan."

"But we were always taught that vampires act on instinct alone," the younger man insisted. "You told us that they do not plan ahead, they only act in the here and now."

"Those are a different breed of the same animal," the president said. "Level E's are beasts of pure instinct. The higher levels are more dangerous because while they still possess that same beastly nature, they are capable of higher thought and planning. The purebloods are particularly dangerous because there is nothing even remotely human about them. Additionally they can force you to become one of them. IF you get a bead on a pureblood, do not aim to wound, no matter how harmless it looks. Aim to kill. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir!" the young hunter replied. "I apologize that I allowed myself to be confused."

"No apology necessary," the president replied. "Older and wiser people than you have fallen for the charms of vampires."

The young man nodded and turned to return to what he had been doing. The president allowed a sneer to cross his face. These young hunters were so undereducated in the ways and habits of vampires that they were exceptionally easy to corrupt to his purpose. Speaking of vampires, he still had to get to that meeting.

Checking over his shoulder every so often to insure that he wasn't being followed, he left the makeshift camp and moved towards one of the abandoned buildings in the old part of town. Checking one more time, he opened the door and crept inside before closing it behind him with a sharp click and latching the bolt.

He turned to face the girl sitting cross-legged on the floor. She looked to be no older than eighteen or twenty but he knew the truth: she was far older and more dangerous than any twenty year old had any right to be. She currently had her eyes closed, but he knew them to be an unsettling icy blue. She was breathing slowly, her breath traveling though her open mouth—a mouth which revealed the delicate points of fangs. He released a sigh. While he was anxious for news, he was also glad that her mind was focused elsewhere. She was difficult to share a room with. There was just something about her that caused him to be uneasy. He was especially glad that her freaky eyes were still closed.

No sooner had he thought that than her eyes flew open as though she had heard him. She surveyed him, her eyes expressionless and unfocused for a moment. Then she seemed to register his presence and her gaze focused on him.

"So?" he asked shifting uncomfortably under that merciless gaze. "Did you do it?"

"It's done," she replied. A cruel smile twisting her beautiful face into a horrific mask. "Kaname Kuran," she spat the name as though it we something foul had no business passing her lips, "will not cause any more problems in this campaign."

"And you couldn't have done it any sooner?" the president scoffed. "Now we have to find a way to burrow through god only knows how much rock."

"His shields were strong," she spat. "I had to wait for them to lower before I could enter his mind. Besides, it's not like I saw _you _doing anything. Before you criticize me perhaps you should make yourself more useful. That is unless you can find _another_ pureblood that is willing to go toe-to-toe with the Kurans after what happened to Rido and Sara." She paused a moment for effect.

"No?" she asked. "That's what I thought. If you want to win this war you _need me. _So I would suggest that you treat me a little more respectfully in the future."

"Of course," he replied. "You are right and I apologize." Even though he didn't want to tell her he was sorry, he had no other option if he wanted to win this war . . . or stay alive. "But you would also do well to remember that you owe us as well."

"I know," she spat. "And I _never_ forget, not for one moment, whose fault that is. Kaname will _pay_ for what he did to me all those years ago. And the first stage of that payment has only just begun. Soon, he will walk right into our waiting arms."

**ooOO88OOoo**

"This is never going to work," Yuuki panted. "He's too heavy."

Yuuki and Seiren each had one of Kaname's feet while Zero had him under the arms. The original plan had been to carry him to the headmaster's house staying in the woods the whole way in an attempt to avoid anyone seeing them. However, Yuuki was right. There was no way that they were going to make it to the house. Not in one go anyway.

"Are you sure you can't just levitate or teleport him?" Zero said laying down his burden more carefully than he would have even an hour ago. But Yuuki was already irritable and Seiren was still acting weird and he figured that dropping Kuran would not go over well with either of them.

"No," Yuuki sighed with exasperation. They had already been over this. "I can't do it. I don't know how to teleport. What if I stick us inside a wall or something? And knowing my luck lately if I try to levitate him—which I don't even know if is possible—I might just blow him up or something."

Zero also bit back his reply that he didn't really see where this was a bad outcome either. Somehow, he felt that they would appreciate this insight less than they would have appreciated him dropping Kaname. For some reason he felt that neither of them had much of a sense of humor at the moment.

"Well, we've got to figure out something else because this isn't working at all," Zero said, frustration coloring his tone. Why did Kuran have to weigh so damn much? He didn't look anywhere near that heavy. Giving into his frustration, Zero bent over the sleeping Kuran and did the one thing that he could think of that no one else had tried: he slapped him—hard.

"Zero what—" Yuuki and Seiren both yelled but cut themselves off when they say Kaname's burgundy eyes open. His hand slowly raised to his reddened cheek and he looked at the hunter that was standing over him, confusion clear on his face.

"You hit me," Kaname said. It was not a question. The words were said with certainty. Both Yuuki and Seiren's eyes widened at his reaction. They were both trying to figure out what Kaname was about to do and Yuuki wondered just how much his magic had recharged during their nap. She hoped that it wasn't enough for him to be able to attack Zero.

The hunter however looked into the eyes of the man who had been his hated enemy and rival for so long—how funny that fate would put them on the same side of a bitter conflict with the people Zero had most identified with. He nodded wordlessly to acknowledge the truth in the purebloods words waiting for the inevitable.

"Why?" Kaname demanded.

"Because your ass is heavy," Zero replied his tone showing the same defiance that had been in his gaze. "I figured it would be better to have you awake and walking so that you could carry most of your weight yourself rather than us carrying it all for you."

"Thank you," Kaname replied shocking everyone there. They weren't sure what they had expected, but that sure wasn't it.

"I was having a rather unpleasant dream," Kaname continued. "I am glad to be free of it." Though he said he was free of it, his mind said otherwise for the questions the dream had awoken in him refused to be forgotten. They continued to torment him despite the fact that he was now awake.

"Did you just _thank_ me?" Zero demanded. He glared at the pureblood with suspicion. The only reason he could think of that Kuran would be thanking him would be that he was about to ask for something that was either impossible, deadly, or perhaps both.

"Yes," Kaname replied sitting up slowly. He turned back around to face Zero once he had and continued. "I thanked you. And I would also like to apologize to you. I have been cruel to you, unnecessarily so, and for this I apologize."

"OK," Zero said backing away. "Who are you and what the hell did you do with the real Kuran?"

"I am the real Kaname," he replied. "That unpleasant dream simply showed me the truth about myself and I didn't like it. I want to change. To be the kind of person my mother would be proud to call her son." The others were standing around him, confusion their chief emotion. This was only intensified as Kaname grabbed Zero around the knees and began sobbing.

"Out of all the people here now, you are the one that I wronged the most profoundly and I am so sorry. I know that words can never fix what I have done, but for now they are all that I have to offer," Kaname sobbed.

While this was happening, Zero was looking between Seiren and Yuuki as though hoping one of them would offer and explanation or yell "April Fools!" and it would all be over. But neither of them did either thing and they looked just as shell shocked as he felt. Finally Yuuki knelt down beside her brother and placed a hand on his heaving back.

"Kaname," she said gently. She wasn't sure what she was going to say to him but she knew that she needed to get him to release Zero before the other man spontaneously combusted. He looked at her, and her heart broke at the desolate look on his face. She wasn't sure how to describe it. All she knew was that he looked broken.

It was like this that the headmaster found them. Yuuki with her hand on the back of a sobbing Kaname who was holding Zero around the knees while Seiren stood silently by looking nearly as uncomfortable as Zero felt. The headmaster, too, stood there in shock. What on earth could have broken someone as strong as Kaname so completely that he would cry so openly? He hoped that whatever it was, the effect wasn't permanent. Kaname was their only real hope when it came to surviving this war. Without him, they would all die.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**Hey all, I have a new chapter for you. Sorry for the weird update day, but this idea hit me today while I was studying for a Physio test (don't ask—even I don't get the connection) and it seemed cruel to hold it until Friday when I have it all done now. Anyway, I didn't figure that you would mind too much.**

**As always thank you to the people who read, favorited, or followed this story since the last update.**

**And special thanks to:**

**ShioriBunny: Yep :) I do that occasionally. Hopefully you liked both that update and this one.**

**Sy: I'm not sure how easily he is going to pull out of this, but Yuuki will be there to help him. And thank you so much! I love hearing that I am someone's favorite :)**

**Elliot Rose: Thank you! I felt bad about taking away the woman that he thought he loved without giving him someone else, but there was no way that I was going to pair Yuuki and Zero together . . . I'm glad that you thought so and liked the Seiren laugh :) No, no it does not . . . but I think we are all in the same boat on that one. Yagari is another of my favorite underappreciated VK characters. There is just so much you can do with him. I know . . . poor Kaien :( but it seemed like the kind of thing that parents would think when their kids grow up. I'm glad that you appreciated the scene. I just felt like there would be more issues with the Rido thing than had happened so far. I know. I was having a few of the fights about nothing at the time and figured that it would fit in well there. I still like Kaname too—despite the fact that I am being so cruel to him lately. And you're right, I don't see a good way for the manga to end at this point :(. And I saw that too, Kaname and Rido were more alike than anyone wants to admit. And you're right that maybe now he will change . . . though even I don't know for sure yet. **

**Anne Fatalism Dilettante: I'm glad that you like the conflicted side of him. I was worried that people would not appreciate it and would be angry with me. He just needed a little more depth since he felt like a bit of a static character so far.**

**Akira 91: I know and I'm sorry, but now we have answered a lot of the questions that were going around. . . and I added a new one. Muhahahahahahahahaha! But if there was no anticipation, there would be no reason for you to come back, right?**

**Kawaii-Cupcake-Sprinkles: You need wait no more! **


	46. Chapter 46

Eventually Kaname stopped crying and released Zero. Once he was free Zero stumbled back a few feet looking at Kaname as though he had just sprouted horns and a tail rather than hugged him. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open slightly. As much as he wanted to ask what was going on, he couldn't get the words to come.

Kaname, too, looked shell shocked. He didn't seem to know what he had done. His eyes were empty and glazed and he seemed almost lost. It worried Seiren. She had never seen him like this. While it was true that he had had bouts of depression and apathy in the past, he never seemed . . . pathetic was the only word that she could find that described him. Even though the others would never admit it, they were thinking the exact same thing. He didn't even notice when they exchanged worried looks over the top of his head.

"Kaname?" Yuuki asked quietly. His head turned towards her, but his eyes never lost their blank expression. She reached up and stroked his face. "It was just a dream," she said. "Everything is going to be ok." His only response was to blink. His lack of reaction scared her more than anything else that had happened. Kaname had always been so strong. He always seemed so sure and now this. She looked at Kaien unsure what she should do next.

"Let's go back to the house," Kaien suggested. "We can get a good night's rest and everything will make more sense in the morning." He hoped he was telling the truth. He also wished that he knew what Kaname had seen that had caused this shift in his personality.

"What do you think, Kaname?" Yuuki asked, her voice forcefully bright. "Would you like to get a good night's sleep?" She took a deep breath when his face didn't even register that she had spoken. She wanted to cry but instead she forced the urge down and stood, offering her hand to him.

"Come on, Kaname, let's go home," she said. She smiled when he took her hand and stood allowing her to lead him towards the headmaster's house. Even though she wanted to cut across campus since it was the shorter route, she knew that if the sight of an unconscious pureblood would freak the nobles out this would drive them completely over the edge. The walk back took place in silence. No one wanted to talk about what they were all were thinking: if they couldn't find a way to snap him out of this, the rest of the war would have to take place without Kaname.

Once they arrived at the edge of the woods nearest the headmaster's house, Zero and Seiren stepped cautiously out of the woods to make sure that the coast was clear before motioning for Yuuki, Kaname and Headmaster Cross to follow. Once they were safely inside, everyone released a sigh of relief. No one had seen them. For now, Kaname's condition was a secret. When Yuuki released Kaname's hand, he just stood there staring straight ahead. Yuuki looked almost as lost.

"Yuuki," Kaien suggested, "why don't you take Kaname upstairs and let him get some rest. Then you can come back downstairs and we can talk about the progress of the vampires' training." She knew from his expression that what he really meant was, 'get rid of him and we can talk about what to do about him.'

She nodded and took Kaname's hand once more to lead him to their bedroom. He followed her wordlessly. She wished that he would say something, or that he would at least have some expression in his face or eyes. In their bedroom, he sat on their bed and looked up at her with eyes that held all the sadness of millennia. It was everything she could do not to look away. She almost missed the blankness.

"What happened?" she asked, tears in her voice. "What could you have possibly dreamed that drove you to this?"

"I saw myself," he said his voice expressionless. "I saw me as I truly am. I saw all the harm I have caused. I don't deserve to live."

"You're wrong," she said. "You are a good person Kaname. Even if you can't see it right now. Think of all the lives you just saved. You're just upset. Everything will look better in the morning. Get some rest."

He looked away from her before he lay down and curled up on his side. Yuuki sighed and took his shoes off and covered him with a blanket before she kissed him on the forehead. She looked down at him with sad eyes then she stroked his hair back and whispered, "Even with everything you have done, I love you Kaname. Just remember that."

After she left, Kaname allowed the tears that he wanted to shed for the wrong he had done to her to fall. He knew that he owed her a confession, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her that it was his fault that her parents were dead. He knew that there was no way she could love him after he told her that and they had been right about him. He was selfish enough that even though he knew he owed her the truth, he couldn't bear to lose her love.

Even though he wasn't aware of it, Yuuki had stopped outside the door when she heard him sob. She took a deep breath and walked away blinking back her own tears. If he had waited until she was gone, it was clear to her that he didn't want her to see him cry and she would honor his wishes. Maybe the time alone would give him a chance to work this out on his own without them having to resort to drastic measures. And if that didn't work . . . she would find something that did.

She walked into the kitchen where she could hear the voices of the others. As she entered, the voices stopped and they looked at her.

"How is he?" Kaien asked.

"I'm not sure," Yuuki said sitting down at the table with a sigh. "I've never seen him like this before."

"We were just discussing that," Seiren replied. "None of us have. What are we going to do, Yuuki-sama?"

"We'll snap him out of it," Yuuki replied her voice edging toward hysteria. "There has to be a way."

"What if there's not?" Zero asked. The others glared at him and he shifted uncomfortably before he said, "I know that we are all thinking it. I'm the only one willing to say it. There is a chance that Kaname is down for the count."

"Zero!" Yuuki snapped. "How can you even think that?!"

"You saw him too!" Zero yelled panic beginning to bubble through his calm disinterested facade. "He's broken. Our one chance at surviving this war, and he's broken. We're doomed."

"No," Yuuki said steel beneath her words. "Even if Kaname can't help us, we're _not_ doomed. We still have me, and we still have everything else. Until we find a way to fix Kaname, or he fixes himself, we will continue like nothing has changed. We'll still train. We'll still prepare. This changes nothing."

"This changes everything," Kaien said his tone betraying his feelings of hopelessness. "We can train and we can still fight but if we can't get Kaname back in the fight our casualties will be much higher. Without him we can't stop the hunters before they are in range of their anti-vampire weapons. You are more powerful than a normal vampire, but you don't have the kind of power that he does. I don't know how he became so powerful, but we need him."

"And I will find a way to bring him back," Yuuki said stubbornly. She couldn't understand why they were giving up so easily. She had been relying on them to be strong and get everyone through this. Now it looked like that task was going to be hers.

"I understand that this is a bit of a setback," she said. "But until it can be fixed, I will have to be enough. Kaname bought us some time with the wall and we need to use it. You need to continue your training efforts. I'm not sure how, but the magic users and I will also have to find a way to continue. We will work on a way to stop the anti-vampire weapons from being effective. If that's all there is to talk about, I suggest that we either resume training or find lodging for the others and call it a night.

"Whatever you all decided to do is up to you, but I have a meeting I need to attend with the magic users," Yuuki had barely finished speaking before she turned and walked out the door.

The others exchanged glances before they stood and followed her out of the house before going their own ways. They all knew that she was right; there was no use in sitting around waiting to die. Even if that was to be their eventual outcome, they at least needed to put up a good fight. But even this knowledge didn't make it any easier for them to return to a task that they knew would be futile in the end. They, too, had suffered through too many changes and events in the past weeks to be able to continue rolling with the punches. This latest change had broken more than just Kaname: it had also broken their morale. For the first time since they learned that war was declared, it had truly sank in that they could all die before this was over. None of them were guaranteed tomorrow.

**ooOO88OOoo**

Only once she was away far enough into the woods that she was sure that the others wouldn't find her did Yuuki allow herself to sink to her knees. She didn't even try to stifle the sobs that tore themselves from her throat or to stop the tears that poured down her cheeks. She had held it all in in front of Zero and the others because they had just seemed so destroyed by Kaname's behavior. And she understood that. Whether it was fair or not, they had all been relying on Kaname to pull them through the coming battle. They didn't even know the truth about his origin and they had _still_ sensed that he was a powerful force that was capable of winning this war. Hell, he could probably have done it single handedly if he really wanted to. But now . . . he had shut down and left her to do it alone. _How can he do this? _She thought angrily. _Doesn't _he_ see how much they all need him? How much I need him?_

She swallowed hard around her tight throat attempting to fight back her feelings of resentment and anger. She knew that it wasn't fair of her. While he wasn't human, he was still only one person. One flawed person that was much more sensitive than he let on. She didn't know what he had seen, but she knew that it had to be bad. This, much like her temper tantrum not that long ago, was Kaname's way of coping with something that he hadn't been prepared to deal with. He just needed time. Hopefully the time that he needed to recover from his shock was less time than the time that the hunters needed to bore through the wall because despite her brave words earlier, Yuuki knew that she would not be enough. They _needed _Kaname, as unfair as that was of them to rely solely on him. In the end, he truly was their best hope of survival.

**ooOO88OOoo**

Once he was regained control of himself again, Kaname did not move. He continued to lay on the bed, his crimson eyes staring unseeing into the darkness. Even though he had allowed Yuuki to lead him to their room with the promise of a good night's rest, sleep remained outside Kaname's reach. He was still exhausted from his efforts earlier, but he was afraid of what sleep would bring. He was afraid that the nightmare would repeat and show him more of his misdeeds. Rather than risk it, he stared blankly at the wall and allowed what the others had said to repeat in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more clear things became to him. There was only one thing that he could do that _might _balance out the things he had done in the past. He had to give himself to the hunters in repayment of the death of their president. If he did that, they would have no reason to continue their war and no one else would have to die on his account. It was the only way.

Even though he knew that was what he needed to do, he was unable to summon the strength to do it. _ I am weak_, he thought bitterly. _I can't even command my own body to do as I wish. How did I ever think that I could lead others?_ Eventually, despite his efforts to remain awake, exhaustion got the better of Kaname and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

**ooOO88OOoo**

As Kaname's burgundy eyes drifted shut, a pair of ice blue eyes across town opened. The pureblood owner of those eyes smiled, a cold, cruel thing that did little to enhance her natural beauty.

"I really don't know why you are all so intimidated by him," she said slowly. "He is truly not that impressive. One little illusion and the great Kaname Kuran is reduced to a crying mess. Despite all his "powers" he still hasn't realized that what he saw was planted in his head by me. He thinks that the people talking to him were real. Really makes you wonder what he truly thinks about himself if he believes the cruel words of people who loved him in the past."

"You know why," the president of the association replied ignoring the last part of her statement. He didn't know what the vampire thought, and he didn't want to know. "You yourself said that his shields were formidable. You saw what he did today. We have plenty of reasons to be intimidated by him. We know what he really is."

She snorted derisively in reply. "Yes. His shields and powers are quite impressive. It is his character that is weak. All the powers in the world do not matter if one is not strong enough to _use _them. As to what he _really_ is, I am still unimpressed. He is not the only ancient pureblood left in the world and the time that he spent in hibernation will ultimately be his doom. In the end, he will pay for what he did to me and my mother. I will see to it."

The president sighed but didn't otherwise respond to her statement. He had a feeling that Kaname was more cunning that she knew. It didn't feel right that he would give up so easily, no matter how convincing her ruse had been. There was more going on here than she expected and he worried that her ego would yet be the downfall of them all. His instincts told him that Kaname, like any wounded animal, was more dangerous now than he had been before she messed with his head. He only hoped that he was wrong or that if he was right, that in the end Kazuye did prove more powerful than her father.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**Sorry about the delay y'all I had another exam. Hopefully this clears up a few more things for y'all. I will try to get another one out soon, now I have something to work from a little faster. I have a better idea where this is going now; I may even have an idea on how to end it!**

**As always, I can't wait to hear what you thought. And thank you to everyone who reads this chapter.**

**And a special thank you to:**

**Maeko11****: I thought someone would appreciate that. It seemed like it was the right time and the right person to do it. And I agree, there may have been an ulterior motive. ;)**

**Akira 91:**** I'm glad that you will continue to come back. And that is one of the things that I love about this fandom, there are so many complex characters that you can twist and manipulate as you need them.**

**Anne Fatalism Dilettante:**** Yep! Time for WAAAAAR! I couldn't just keep building up to it forever and never get there :)**

**Kawaii-Cupcake-Sprinkles: ****Hey, you eventually reviewed and that's what counts :) Thank you and I hope to see what you think about the latest revelations **

**Elliot Rose:**** She broke him alright and you got a little bit of her past in this one. While not a lost love, she does have a relation to him that makes her ability make sense . . . sort of. And we'll just have to see how her master plan works out for her. And don't worry, we'll see a bit more Yagari come up soon. And I suppose that good characters that don't get enough screen/page time are better than not having any good characters, right?**

**moonprincess4ever:**** I will try to get them up as fast as I can. I'm glad that you have enjoyed it so far.**

**ShioriBunny:**** Unexpected is what I aim for ;) and thank you so much for the compliment. (and I'm not sure if fantastically is a real word either, but even if it's not a real word I appreciated the sentiment).**

**AnimeFanPeep: ****Thank you. And I'm sure you can if you think about it. And no, I'm not following the plot at all. And if you think that was OOC, it only gets worse from there. Hopefully you enjoy it anyway. **

**I also want to say thank you to everyone who added this story or me to their favorites or alerts. Thank you and I will see you for the next chapter.**

**Stickdonkeys**


	47. Chapter 47

Yuuki sighed as she watched the last of the nobles leave the clearing. All things figured, practice hadn't gone that bad. She hadn't even needed to explain to them why Kaname wasn't there. They had just known. True, they hadn't exactly known the whole truth, but they had deduced that he had needed to rest after his impressive show of magic. She had just smiled and nodded.

"Don't worry, Yuuki-sama," one of the nobles had said seeing the sadness in her smile, "in a few days, or less, Kaname-sama will be as good as new." She had just smiled and attempted to keep the tears from her eyes and voice as she told him that she hoped he was right.

After that, no one had said anything else about Kaname. Instead they had traded the knowledge they had with the others in an attempt to teach each other something so that the session would not be a total waste. Everyone learned something and after a couple of hours Yuuki had decided to call it a night. She could see the fatigue beginning to show on the faces of the others and they were running out of tricks to exchange.

Again she found herself hoping that Kaname would snap out of it soon. She was already out of her league and the nobles were out of tricks. They needed him. Forcing the thought, and the depression it caused, out of her head she began walking back to the house hoping that the others had had more productive lessons than she had.

**ooOO88OOoo**

"Seiren, wait," Zero called. They had just left the gym after a few hours of practice and she had turned to go the moon dorms after refusing to look at him throughout practice. He watched as her shoulders rose as she took a deep breath before she turned and faced him. He flinched at the ice in her gaze and almost decided to let her leave. Almost.

"Can we talk?" he asked. "Please?" At his last word, her eyes softened slightly and she nodded curtly before she broke eye-contact with the violet-eyed vampire.

Zero thought about it quickly and decided that the best place for the m to talk that offered the lowest chance of disturbance would be his room. Without a word he turned and headed towards the headmaster's house hoping that since she had agreed to talk she would follow him. He wasn't disappointed. Even though he was worried about the conversation that was to come, he was pleased that she was willing to have it.

Seiren sighed as she followed Zero. She didn't want to discuss this yet. She had hoped that his naturally reserved nature would give her time to think through what she was feeling _before_ he wanted her to talk about it. But, like all her hopes lately, it didn't come through. Even so, she couldn't' help but hope that they were at least going to walk a bit to give her time to think of something.

She was so busy thinking that she didn't notice where they were until she heard a latch click and a lock slide into place. She looked around her in shock and realized that they were in the room they had so recently shared. She glared at him as she took in another detail: he was leaning against the door—the only exit—with his arms crossed and a determined look on his face that told her that she wouldn't get to leave until they were one. His position angered her.

"Why'd you bring me here of all places?" she demanded, her anger reflected in her tone. "Was there nowhere else we could have gone?"

He hadn't intended to yell at her, but her anger awoke the same emotion in him. "It didn't seem to bother you this much last night," he snapped, his tone cruel. "And, no, this was the only place I _knew_ we wouldn't be interrupted."

"Like we weren't interrupted yesterday?" she snarled back. Even though she had told him that it didn't matter, it did. She was a _noble_ vampire. To be caught like that, even if she hadn't been doing what they had thought she was . . . well, it was embarrassing.

Zero at least had the courtesy to look ashamed before he replied. "No, not like yesterday," he said, his tone more subdued. "Is that why you've been like this today? Or did your conversation with your mother have something to do with it?"

"What do you mean "like this"," Seiren demanded, her tone dangerous as she took a half-step towards him. The comment about her mother hadn't even registered with her.

He felt the urge to back away from her, but since he was already against the door he allowed his anger to override his sense of self-preservation.

"Unreasonable," he snapped. "Ever since the earthquake you checked out! And when I try to ask you what's wrong, you start a fight with me! This isn't like you. What the hell is going on?" His anger had deflated again as he spoke and the last words were little more than a whisper.

It was this that broke her anger as well. The despair in his tone was too much. Without her anger as a fuel, she found herself backing towards the bed and sinking into a sitting position on its edge with her head in her hands. She sat like that in silence for a bit before she sighed deeply and looked up at him, her silver eyes showing her sorrow and exhaustion.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, her voice little more than a whisper. "I don't know what's going on. When I found out that the earthquake had been cause by them, I felt like I had failed and I hated myself or that failure. Now . . . now I'm just . . . "

"Scared?" Zero supplied. She nodded and bit her lip as the tears began to form.

"I'm terrified," she sobbed. "We're at war. And you might. . . and I might. . ." Even though she didn't finish her statement, she didn't need to. Zero knew _exactly_ what she meant. He walked over to her and sat down beside her before pulling her into a hug. She laid her head on his chest and started to cry in earnest.

"Shh," he soothed, "it'll be ok. You heard Yuuki. She'll fix it." He stroked her silver hair while she wept.

"But what if she can't?" Seiren asked. She wanted to trust what Yuuki had said, but she was a realist. She had seen the emptiness in Kaname's eyes. "I don't want to die."

"You won't," he promised even though they both knew there was a chance she would. "I'll make sure of it." She pulled him more tightly against her. She knew that in a war the only way someone could even hope to keep such a promise was if they intended to sacrifice themselves if the need arose. She couldn't live with herself if he died to save her.

Silently she promised herself that if that happened, she would follow soon after. But there was one thing that she wanted to do before either of them died and this might be her only chance. She pulled back enough to look into the violet eyes of the vampire she loved before she tangled her fingers in his silver hair and claimed his lips in a kiss.

Zero was surprised when she kissed him but soon the surprise melted into awe at the passion and desire her kiss held. He felt a moan rise unbidden from his chest at the sheer force of emotion it held.

Taking his moan as a good sign, Seiren began to unbutton his shirt with the hand that was not tangled in his hair. She was almost done when one of Zero's hands closed over her own and stopped her before he broke the kiss and pulled back to look at her. Through the haze of desire in his eyes, she saw a hint of confusion and what almost looked like fear.

He had meant to ask her what she was doing, but one look at the determination and passion burning in her eyes told him _exactly_ what she had planned. He was both excited and terrified at the same time. He didn't know if she had ever done this before, but he hadn't. He hoped that he could manage to do it well. It was his uncertainty that made him have to know.

"Are you sure?" he asked. He truly wanted to, but he didn't want to get excited if this wasn't going to go anywhere.

"I want to do this," she replied. "With you."

He nodded. "I just want you to know, I've never . . ." he trailed off unsure of which word to use.

"Don't worry," she whispered leaning in to nip his earlobe. "It'll be ok." He leaned away from her to give her better access to his neck and ear and allowed her to take control since she seemed to know what she was doing.

Soon, her nimble fingers had finished unbuttoning his shirt and she had removed it and gently placed it over the headboard. She was just beginning to explore the pale flesh she had uncovered with her hands when she felt him tentatively reach under her shirt. He had only touched her with the tips of his fingers. The caress a barely there sensation that had caused goosebumps to rise across her flesh. She wondered how that touch would feel in more intimate places than her back, but didn't want to rush things.

Knowing that he may not do it on his own, she took care of the buttons of her own shirt and removed it, neatly laying it next to his. She though a moment before she decided to leave her bra on. She figured that she would let him do the honors when he was ready. When she had moved to remove her blouse, Zero had retracted his hands. Now, blushing slightly at her forwardness, Seiren picked them up from where they laid and returned them to her back.

He smiled tentatively at her and she returned it before she bent and began kissing him again. Without the encumbrance of the shirt, his hands began to roam more freely. In their exploration, one of his hands brushed the side of her breast. At her little sound of pleasure, he felt a little bolder and gently stroked it through the cloth with his thumb. He was surprised as to how much he enjoyed her enjoyment of his touch.

Seiren was surprised at her body's reaction to his touch. She had been with a man before—not that anyone else knew that—and after they had finished she had wondered what all the fuss was about. It hadn't been traumatizing, or particularly painful, but it hadn't been all that wonderful either. Now she understood. Zero's hesitant exploration was doing more than the other man's "skills" had done in less than half the time. It wasn't just the act that was special; it was the person you were with that made it special. Now she understood.

When Zero's finger went under the band of her bra, she realized that he would never remove it if he wasn't encouraged to do so.

"You can take it off, if you want," she said, her voice a breathy whisper. He looked up at her with wide eyes. She smiled at his innocence, the innocence that she was about to take, before she nodded and watched as he reached behind her and fumbled with the clasp for a moment before getting it undone. She smiled as he began to explore her skin with his eyes in addition to his hands. While he was busy, she decided to do a little exploring of her own and gently undid the button on his pants.

The sound of a zipper shocked Zero and he looked at Seiren. Things were just happening so fast. He had known that eventually they would get to here, but he despite what he had said, he didn't know that it was going to be that night. Hearing his sharp intake of breath, Seiren looked at him.

"Trust me," she whispered. She waited for his panic to abate before she finished unzipping his pants, watching him carefully to make sure that this was what he wanted. "We can stop," she said gently. Even though she wanted to do this, if he didn't she would let him say no and wouldn't have held it against him.

He shook his head and raised his hips to enable her to remove his pants. She placed his shoes on the floor beside the bed and his pants with the rest of their clothes that had been removed and bent to kiss the side of his neck. He moaned and allowed his hands to return to their exploration. Of their own volition they made their way to the waist band of her skirt. She made a noise of consent and allowed him to slip her skirt down across her hips. Once it was down, she stood and allowed him to finish removing it before kicking off her shoes and rejoining him on the bed.

The ease with which she submitted herself to him cause his already engorged manhood to throb almost painfully. And he was a little embarrassed by it, he knew that from where she was sitting, she had to be able to feel it. He was embarrassed that he couldn't control himself better.

Little did he know that the fact that she could feel his arousal in a tangible way only served to increase Seiren's desire for the vampire. She knew with certainty that they were doing the right thing. And it was this certainty that caused her to decided that it was time for them to lose the last bits of fabric that were between them. Zero didn't protest as she grasped the waist band of his underwear and began to guide pull them off. Instead, he did the same to her, feeling braver as his desire for her rose and since she hadn't stopped him yet. Neither of them took the time to lay this clothing in a neat pile and instead tossed them aside rather dramatically.

Even though she knew it was wrong, Seiren wasn't sure how much more foreplay she could stand and decided that she would use her position to speed things along. Stroking his face gently with one hand, she reached between them and guided him towards her entrance with the other. She kept eye contact with him as she slowly lowered herself on to him. When he closed his eyes, she stopped worried she had gone too fast. He worry disappeared when he let out a throaty moan and grabbed her hips forcing her the rest of the way down

Zero had never felt anything like it. He closed his eyes at the pure exquisiteness of the feeling. He could think of no words to describe it, and soon he gave up, so lost was he in the wash of sensations. Then she began to move, a slow steady rhythm that was more wonderful than the static sensations of just being inside her had been. He felt mans begin to rise up his throat and made no attempt to quiet them.

If anyone would have asked Seiren how she felt at that moment—after she finished committing bloody murder—she would have told them that she could think of no words to describe it except for right. It felt right. She was just thinking that she wished it could last forever when Zero let out a particularly loud moan as he reached his finish line miles ahead of her.

She was shocked and a little disappointed. Even though she had heard that virgin males had no stamina, she had thought it was an old wives talk like the one about the first time always bleeding for a woman. Hers hadn't.

She sighed as she gently separated them and lay down beside him. She had also heard that stamina builds up rather quickly. And other than that little problem, this had been much better than her first time. Even with that bit of disappointment, she didn't regret her decision that night and she hoped that there would be more time to practice in the future and get it right.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**Hey all, hope you enjoyed that, a few of you asked for a Zero/Seiren scene so I figured that I would give you one. Besides it had been a while since one of those had popped up and I didn't really see a way to get Yuuki and Kaname into that position any time soon. . . but we'll see. **

**As always, I would love to hear what you thought about it, even if you hated it. And thank you to the people that added this story to their favorites or alerts.**

**A special thank you to:**

**Sapphire Kuran: **** That's part of the reason I did that, he seemed a little one dimensional. It was time for a little character growth and he doesn't seem like the type to take to growth kindly, especially at his age. Growth requires trauma. And Thank you :)**

**Elliot Rose: **** I would agree with you about the mysterious characters, though I do wish some of them got a little more screen time. Eventually he will realize that suicide is not the best course of action, but it may take something drastic to make that happen. And poor Kaname, no matter what he does, he is betraying something he loves/loved. **

**Kannabi888:** **thank you so much for deciding to review! As to the actual manga, I kinda liked the newest chapter that came out, I think I see how she is going to end it now, but the ones before it (since Kaname killed Aidou's father) I wasn't too sure about. And thank you, I was trying for a more self-assured Yuuki, as one of my other reviewers said a while ago, "she's a pureblood dammit!" the weak and docile Yuuki doesn't really work for me. And I'm glad that you like my take on Kaname :). I won't abandon it, I promise. I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

**Akira91****: That's what I'm counting on :) and thank you for the compliment. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.**


	48. Chapter 48

Yuuki sighed as she walked into the house. Even though she was glad to be away from the others, being here meant that she would have to face Kaname again. She hoped that he was at least a little better after being left alone to cry it out. She didn't know how she could deal with it if he wasn't. She was feeling too fragile to be able to handle his fragility well.

She was worried that she would wind up venting her frustrations on him. She decided then that no matter how she found him, she wouldn't do that since it might make him feel worse about himself and delay his return to normal even more. For once, he _needed_ her to be there for him. And she was determined to be there for him, no matter how hard it was for her.

While she was thinking through this, she heard a noise—or rather noises—coming from Zero's room. It only took a second for her to recognize the noises and realize their cause. Despite her current hopeless state, or perhaps because of it, the fact that Zero and Seiren were in his room having sex made her burst out in laughter. She put her hand over her mouth trying to stifle the sounds coming from her mouth, but it wasn't doing much to mute the sound. Thankfully, they were too absorbed in each other to hear her. She knew that they would never forgive her for eavesdropping on their first time.

Eventually she regained enough control of herself to at least leave. Soon, her amusement faded as she realized that neither of them would have done it so quickly if they didn't think that this might be their last chance. She hoped that the situation that she and Kaname had landed everyone in didn't make the other two vampires do something that they would regret later. With this sobering thought in mind, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she opened the door to her own room.

Kaname was lying just as she had left him. He was still curled up on his side, almost in the fetal position. Only this time, his eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping. As she looked at him, the thought that he looked younger and more vulnerable in sleep crossed her mind again. A sad smile crossed her face as she sat down beside him on the bed and gently brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

At her touch, his eyes flew open. Panic was evident in the burgundy depths until he focused on her face then it faded to be replaced by the sadness that had been there before. She smiled warmly at him before she bent down and placed a kiss on his forehead. He closed his eyes at the gesture but said nothing.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked her tone forcibly cheery. In reply he just looked at her. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. The answer was there in his eyes.

"Don't worry," she said, trying to think of something to say that might make him happy. "So I met with the magic users today. They're making great progress. I'm out of things to teach them, and they're out of things to teach each other. I think tomorrow we will try to think up new ways to use magic. Ways that might stop anti-vampire weapons."

She was disappointed when he didn't react to her words. She had figured that a puzzle like that one would rouse him. She knew how much he liked puzzles.

"Do you have any ideas that might help us?" she asked, hoping that a direct question would at least get an answer.

"I have one idea," he said quietly.

"Really?" she asked perking up instantly at the fact that he had at least answered her. "What's that?"

"I will turn myself over to the hunters and end the war," he replied. "That way there is no need to fight them and the anti-vampire weapon problem ceases to exist."

"You're going to do _what_?" Yuuki breathed. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"The only thing I can do to end this war," Kaname replied simply. "I am going to give myself to the hunters."

Yuuki opened and closed her mouth for a few times as she tried to think of any kind of a coherent reply to that idiotic statement. She then took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself before she yelled at him. She had promised herself that she wasn't going to yell at him.

"What even makes you _think_ that is a good idea?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she fought against her anger. She couldn't believe that he could be so stupid! _This_ was the solution that the great strategic mind of Kaname Kuran had come up with!? All of his millennia of experience had lead to this? She couldn't believe he had actually meant it. It had to be some kind of a test. He was testing her to see what she would do.

"It's the only way," he said as though this was the solution any logical person would come up with. "If I give myself to them then they will have no reason to continue the war since their blood debt will be settled." His reasoning was so clear to him that he couldn't understand why she was having difficulty understanding why he had come to this decision. He was confused as she closed her eyes and clinched her hands into fists before she opened them and glared at him with tears coursing down her face.

"And you really think that's how it'll work, huh?" she yelled. She had been intending to be gentle with him but this self-sacrificial attitude of his was too much. "You honestly think that once they have _killed_ you they'll just leave the rest of us alone?"

"They would have no reason to do otherwise," he said calmly. "Their feud is with me."

"Damn it, Kaname!" Yuuki screamed grabbing him by the shoulders and giving into her urge to shake him instead of her urge to slap him. "That is the stupidest thing you have ever said! We've been through this already! The hunters _want_ war. Even if you sacrifice yourself they will still wage this war and then we will all die. We don't stand a _chance_ without you! _And you know it_!"

Kaname was shocked at her actions. He had never expected that she would react so angrily to his proposal. "How do you know?" he asked emotion entering his voice for the first time. "How do you know that you would not all be better off without me? Everything I try to do goes badly. Everything I touch fails. What makes you think that the world wouldn't be a better place without me in it? Everything I care about eventually comes to hate me."

"How can you say that?" Yuuki breathed, pulling away from him. "I need you, Kaname. I love you. I don't hate you. And everything you touch doesn't go bad. You saved me when I was a child. That went well. Or at least I think it did. Do you regret it?"

"No," he cried reaching for her despite the fact that he thought she would be better off without him. "I don't regret it. Saving you may be the one thing that I have done right in my entire existence." He paused as he realized that now was the time to say what he had never wanted to tell her.

"But it never should have been necessary," he said looking straight into her eyes and willing her to understand. "Your parents should never have died. I should have faced Rido myself and destroyed him, even if I couldn't kill him. You should never have been orphaned or placed in the position that you needed saving. And for that, I am so very sorry. I failed you."

She looked away from him, tears forming in her eyes once more. He sighed, knowing that she would hate him now. He stood, preparing to leave. He couldn't stand to see the hatred in her eyes.

"I just go now," he said sadly. "Again, though I know it means nothing, I apologize." He almost sobbed when he felt her hand grasp his arm. Even though he knew he deserved anything she said, he had hoped that she would be merciful and allow him to leave without saying anything. He hated the idea that one of his last memories on this earth would be her angry words. Knowing that he had no alternative, he turned to face her.

She looked up at him, her burgundy eyes awash in anger. He closed his eyes and clinched his hands into fists against the onslaught that he knew was to come. What happened next was so fast that neither of them really knew what was happening before it did. Yuuki had slapped Kaname. In the aftermath of her action, they both stood there in shock.

**ooOO88OOoo**

Kaien sighed as he watched the vampires leave. They were joking with one another and laughing. They had no idea that they stood no chance of winning this war. Despite what Yuuki had said, he knew that she was not capable of stopping the anti-vampire weapons. She didn't know enough about magic. Kaname stood a chance of doing it because he was older and had been there when the weapons had first been forged.

Kaien didn't know if even Yuuki knew the truth about Kaname, and it wasn't Kaien's place to tell her, but he knew. He had known since Yuuki was born. Juuri and Haruka had told him about what had happened to their first child. He had initially been shocked, but after he had spent more time with the family—minus Yuuki—he had gotten used to the idea since Kaname had shown few signs of being more than he appeared. And by the time he started behaving strangely for his age, he was so dedicated to Yuuki and the other Kurans that no one cared.

Kaien had never forgotten what he knew, but it had been easy to pretend that Kaname was nothing more than Yuuki's older brother. But now, it wasn't just that Kaname they needed, it was the Ancestor Kaname and all the knowledge that he possessed. And now that both of them were needed, neither of them was available. And Kaien wasn't sure that he could be brought back. He had seen men and women who had been destroyed before and recognized the signs. Even though he would never tell his daughter that it was hopeless, he knew that she was fighting a losing battle.

Kaien was surprised when he felt someone touch his shoulder. He turned, expecting to see one of the vampires or perhaps Zero, and was surprised to see Yagari standing there with a smug yet worried look on his face.

"Little bit distracted, are we?" he asked. He was a little surprised. Even before all this had happened, he had never been able to sneak up on Kaien. The older man had _always_ known that he was there. For him to be able to sneak up on him in the middle of a war something bad must have happened.

Kaien made a noise of agreement, but his eyes never actually focused on Yagari. "Are the kids alright?" Yagari asked, dropping his disinterested tone. For Kaien to be this distracted something must have happened to one of them.

"Oh," Kaien said, shaking himself out of his dark thoughts. "They're fine. For now."

"Then what happened?" Yagari asked.

"You know," Kaien replied. "I'm surprised to see you back here. I figured that you would have left. This really isn't your fight."

"Didn't think I'd let you have all the fun, did you?" Yagari asked going for bravado despite the worry that was still flooding his veins. "So what's got you so depressed?"

"Kaname," Kaien answered.

"What about him?" Yagari demanded. "He didn't break the little prefect's heart did her?"

"Not yet," Kaien said. "But he's broken."

"What do you mean broken?" Yagari asked confused. Even if he had been injured, purebloods heal so fast that it should be a non-issue.

Kaien just leveled a glance at the younger hunter. In that look Yagari saw Kaien's desolation and realized that it wasn't a physical break that Kaien was talking about. He also realized that this meant that they were well and truly screwed.

"Well, shit," Yagari said. Even though Kaien disapproved of the use of vulgarities, the sentiment was echoed in his own mind. And he replied with nothing more than a nod.

Unbeknownst to the older men, their private conversation had not been that private. Takuma had been finishing putting things up in the closet and had heard every word that had been said. He waited until the ex-hunters had left the room before he emerged with one thought on his mind: the night class needed to know.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**So what do you think? Was this a decent chapter for now? There will be more to come, I promise. **

**And thank you to everyone who read this chapter.**

**A special thank you to:**

**Akira 91: **** Thank you! I was worried that I had his being too cautious and her too forward, but I'm glad that you enjoyed it. And we'll try to work in a scolding, I'll bet that it will be written all over his face for anyone paying any kind of attention :)**

**Elliot Rose:**** She'll figure it out, don't worry. And yep, impending death is quite the motivator for speeding a relationship along, eh? Thank you! Once I get it done I will go back and fix the typos but I figure that if I stop writing to fix typos I will get murdered. I thought that was a good touch. And yep practice makes perfect ;). And I will keep writing :) I hope you liked this latest chapter.**

**Leafstone:**** thank you! I hope you like the rest of it as well.**


	49. Chapter 49

**Brief synopsis from the last few chapters: Kaname has checked out due to images conjured in his mind by another pureblood with a vendetta against him leaving the others lost and desolate. Zero and Seiren sought comfort in the arms of one another while Yuuki and Kaname fought and Kaien accidently alerted the noble vampires to Kaname's condition.**

**ooOO88OOoo**

"Hey, can I talk to you all?" Takuma asked walking up to where Ruka, Kain, and Aidou were sitting. He had intended to include Seiren in the discussion, but he was unable to find her and figured that she was already aware of the situation. The other nobles shrugged and looked at him impatiently waiting for him to continue.

"In private?" he specified. Thought they were shocked, they knew that he would never come to them and request a private chat if it wasn't important. They stood and followed the blond noble out of the moon dorms and into the woods. Though they didn't understand his secrecy, they knew that he had to have a reason especially as he wasn't smiling. Takuma always smiled.

"What is this about?" Ruka asked after they had been walking for a while. While she did not object to nighttime stroll under normal circumstances, in the middle of a war zone this did not strike her as the best plan.

"Just a little further," Takuma replied. Not only was he trying to make sure that they were not overheard, he was also trying to put off giving the nobles the bad news. Eventually he knew that he could put it off no longer. He took a deep breath before he turned to face the others, sadness in his green eyes.

"I'm not sure what happened," he began slowly. He hadn't really thought through how he was going to say it. "All I know is what I overheard from Headmaster Cross talking to Yagari-sensei."

After the pause had gone on too long, Aidou decided that Takuma might need a prod to continue. "And what did you hear?" he asked. He didn't understand the need for all of this cloak-and-dagger behavior if Takuma was never going to tell them what he wanted them to know.

"Well," Takuma began deciding that it was best to just tell them. "I overheard them discussing the fact that we are in this war alone."

"We knew that," Ruka snapped. She couldn't believe that he had brought them out here to tell them that they were in the war alone. Everyone knew that!

"No," Takuma said. "You don't know this. There is no easy way to say this . . . but they were saying that Kaname-sama. . . that he's . . . well he won't be able to help us."

"What do you mean?" Ruka demanded. She didn't understand. Had something happened to the pureblood? Or had he just decided that he had had enough fighting for now?

"I mean that, well they said that Kaname-sama is broken was the word he used," Takuma explained.

"No," Ruka breathed. "That can't be true. He must be mistaken." She couldn't believe that Kaname could be broken. He was such a strong person. It just made no sense.

"Was he sure?" Kain asked seriously. They needed to be sure before they took any kind of action at all. And even if Kaname was broken, there was still Yuuki. She may be untrained, but she was still a force to be reckoned with.

Takuma nodded wordlessly. He remembered the desolation in the Headmaster's voice as he had told Yagari about Kaname's condition.

"No," Aidou said stubbornly. "You said yourself that you don't have the full story. I can give you a bit more of it. When the hunters attacked earlier Kaname-sama stopped them. He's not broken, he's exhausted. In a few days or less he will be fine. You'll see."

Takuma smiled at him sadly. He hoped that Aidou was right, but given the words and tone of the headmaster he doubted it. He, too, realized that without Kaname—as a powerful fully realized pureblood—that their chances of winning had just dropped dramatically. He also understood Aidou's determination to refuse to believe it. There was much comfort in denial.

**ooOO88OOoo**

Yuuki looked up at the man she loved, the red mark left by her hand standing out livid against his pale skin. She worried her lip with her front teeth, her breath coming in sobs and angry tears flowing down her face.

"You're an idiot," she said, her voice full of tears. "Possibly the biggest idiot I have ever met." He couldn't argue with her. She was right about him. And even if she wasn't, he deserved her anger and her hatred. Even so, he couldn't' stop the sorrow from showing in his eyes as he absorbed her words.

"Why do you insist on blaming yourself for everything?" she asked reaching up and gently stroking the spot where she had slapped him in an attempt to soothe it. "I know I was little, but I remember what happened that night. You were only a child, Kaname. Even if you _could_ have faced Rido, it was good that you didn't. I remember Father telling you not to go. How do you think they would have felt if you had and had been injured or killed?"

He stared at her in shock, unable to believe that she was focusing on _that_ after he had just revealed to her that he had been responsible for the death of her parents. He couldn't understand why she was talking about what might have happened to him had he done what he should have. He was more shocked when she continued speaking.

"And now," she sobbed. "Now that you are all that is left of my biological family, _now_ you want to leave me too!? I understand why my parents did what they did. They felt that it was the best thing to do at the time. And they were right. It was the best thing they could do for _us_ in that situation. But now, to ease your own conscience over something that wasn't your fault, you want to throw their sacrifices away. And leave me alone," her last words were little more than a whisper but they were a whisper that cut Kaname deeply.

"That's not what I want," Kaname said reaching for her and feeling pleased when she didn't pull away but instead wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly to her.

"I want to make the world safe for you. And to do that, I have to stop this war," he continued. This is why he had meant to slip off without a scene. He knew that it would only be more difficult to leave her now.

"If I have to sacrifice myself to do it, I will. You deserve a good life. A life of peace," he explained, sincerity dripping from his words. "This is the only way I can see to give you that life."

She looked up at him from the circle of his arms, her crimson eyes hard. "What makes you think that I would appreciate such a gift?" she demanded. "What good would a peaceful life be to me if I can't have happiness as well?"

Her words shocked him. He hadn't thought about it from that angle. He had never thought that she would not appreciate the life he would gift her with through his death. He had not realized that she would react so badly to the idea of him giving up his life for her. He had assumed that she would appreciate the gesture as the ultimate show of his love for her. The more he thought about it, the more sense her argument was making. Why had he thought that sacrificing himself would solve anything? The hunter's hunger for war was insatiable now. His death would solve nothing. He knew that the idea had not been his own. But as to whose it had been, he was unsure. The one thing that he was sure of was that the fact that someone had attempted to implant a thought in his head enraged him.

Yuuki watched his face as it moved from shock, to understanding to determination and then anger. As much as his anger frightened her—she knew what he was capable of when his anger was aroused—she was glad to see some emotion other than the sorrow that had been there since that morning in his eyes. Even so, she could feel the power beginning to radiate from him as his temper swelled.

"Kaname?" she said gently her voice quaking with her fear that she would not be able to reach him before he destroyed them all. "What's the matter?"

He looked at her and recognized the fear in her eyes. It hurt to know that he was the cause of that fear. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hand on the back of her head, threading his fingers through her hair and pulled her more tightly against his chest. Through his own stupidity and gullibility he had almost lost her. The most precious thing in the world to him and he had almost given it up over a planted suggestion.

"I'm sorry, Yuuki," he whispered into her hair. "You're right, I _am_ an idiot. But I see the error of my plans now. I am sorry to have frightened you."

She tried to pull back to look at his face, but his hold on her refused to slacken. "It's ok," she whispered.

"No," he said sternly. "It's not ok. I should have known better. I should have _realized. _I am old enough to have known that my mind had been meddled with. But no! I gave in and almost played into their hands."

"Into whose hands?" Yuuki demanded. "I still don't know what's going on."

"Neither do I. But I intend to find out," he said pulling back to look into her eyes. She was pleased to see that they were a clear now as they had been before his spell. He was back.

"There is one thing that I do know," he offered though he knew that the news would not please her. She raised an eyebrow in query and he sighed before he said, "There is a pureblood working with the hunters."

**ooOO88OOoo**

**Here we are y'all, a new chapter. Now that school is over things should go much faster. I hope to have it finished on or before the second anniversary of its posting. . . but we'll see how that works out. I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and would love to hear what you thought about it.**

**Thank you to the following people for their reviews:**

**Anne Fatalism Dilettante:**** Thank you. I hope this update was soon enough for you. And I agree. The manga has been so frustrating lately. And I would agree with you on the childish part. Sometimes in trying to make him seem more fragile, I go a little too far. And as to the war, I feel more like he was panicking about seeing himself clearly for the first time than the war itself (though I may not have communicated that well) and the only real reason he is worried about the war is for Yuuki's sake. I am glad that you continue reading despite these short-comings and hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Elliot Rose:**** Oh, trust me, it will come up :D they are too good of friends for her to let something like that go unmentioned. She may even let it slip over breakfast with Kaien. . . maybe. And I thought so. Sometimes a good slap is exactly what someone needs to make them come to their senses (not, of course, that I advocate hitting others). I hope this new chapter lived up to your expectations.**

**Akira 91: ****I'm sorry, Takuma didn't hear you. Lol But Kaname did at least do as you asked. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. I look forward to seeing what you thought.**

**As always, thank you for reading, **

**Stickdonkeys**


	50. Chapter 50

**A brief synopsis of the last chapter: Takuma told Ruka, Kain and Aidou Jr. about the state Kaname is in which became unnecessary when Kaname returned to normal after a slap to the face and some harsh words from Yuuki. Additionally, Kaname now knows that there is another pureblood who is working with the hunters. **

**ooOO88OOoo**

Kazuye felt her eyes fly open as her connection to Kaname's mind shattered. The recoil from the tendril of her mind being severed by his shields left her panting. She felt panic flood her veins for the first time in a very long time as she recalled the pure unadulterated fury she had felt before she had been roughly thrown from his mind.

Not bothering to hide the fear in her eyes, she looked at the president of the association. "I think we may have made a mistake," she said disgusted with herself for the tremor in her voice.

"What do you mean?" he demanded approaching her for the first time since they had begun this venture. She felt herself flinch at his tone. Even though she normally would have scoffed at him for trying to chastise her, she was feeling vulnerable at the moment due to being ejected from Kaname's mind. She looked at him for a moment, her blue eyes unreadable.

"I think this all may have been a mistake," she clarified. She felt like a fool for aligning herself with the hunters. Kaname was more powerful than even she had anticipated. She had miscalculated her own strength in relation to his and in her arrogance had challenged him. And now, her challenge had been met and countered and all she had accomplished was angering him. She knew there was no way that they could now win this war.

"It's a little late to decide that this war is a mistake," the president replied coldly. He couldn't understand why she was so indecisive about this. She had long told him that she wanted to avenge her mother and kill Kaname. He had wanted to eliminate Kaien Cross. Together they had the perfect chance and perhaps the strength to do it and _now_, once the end was in sight, she wanted to stop.

"I haven't decided it is a mistake," she snapped, regaining her composure and pride as time began to pass. "I have decided that it is hopeless."

"You can't back out now," he snarled. "You owe us."

"I know," she snapped. "I owe you, but that does not mean that I am willing to stay and fight a war that is futile. Kaname found the suggestion that I planted."

"I thought you said he would not be able to do that," the president barked, cutting off her next words. She felt her anger flare at his rudeness. She may be willing to fight with them because she wanted Kaname dead, but she didn't intend to die to accomplish her goal. She wanted to live to savor her victory.

"He shouldn't have found it," she said. "But he did. And now he is more than just angry. He is livid. He's also more powerful that I thought and more dangerous for his anger. I understand why we started this, but for now I think that we would be wise to pull back and wait."

"We can't do that!" he yelled. "If we give the men time to think they will realize that they do not want to kill women and children—even if they are vampires. We _have_ to press on while their anger is high. We have to finish what we have started."

"No," she said. "_You_ have to finish what we have started. I do not."

"You do unless you want to go back into the vaults of the association," he threatened raising his hand to brandish his bracelet. Her hand unconsciously rose to touch the tattoo on her neck. She glared at him with impotent rage. She wanted to tell him that he couldn't do it, but she knew that he could. She had spent too many years there already and had no desire to return.

"Fine," she said looking away from him. "I will see your war through to the end. But _only _because I desire revenge. Once I have eliminated Kaname you are on your own and I am free to go where I will."

"We have a deal," he replied with a smile. "Once Kaname is gone, there will be no true resistance left." She didn't tell him that she knew that he was wrong. There was more strength to be found in that place than was contained in the body of Kaname Kuran. She could have, but in her heart she had no problem with the idea that the hunters association would be wiped out in retribution for Kaname's death at her hands. She only wished that she could do it herself.

**ooOO88OOoo**

Eventually the nobles had decided that they would see if Aidou had been right. They would give Kaname a few days to recover from his exertions before they did anything. Although they did intend to talk to Yuuki in the morning to see if what they had heard was true. Once it had been decided, they had each gone their own way. Takuma had stood there watching them leave.

Once they had left, he felt worse than he had before they had talked. He hated seeing the same hopelessness that he felt fill their eyes. He hated himself for spreading the fear, but he knew that they _had _ to know.

He hated himself even more for the fact that—in a way—the whole situation could be viewed as his fault. Not entirely, of course, but some of the blame was his. If only he had said no to his grandfather this may not have happened. Rido would not have been resurrected, or at least not yet. Yuuki would never have been hurt. Kaname would never have killed the senate and president of the association. The war would never have begun.

This could all be traced back to that one, weak moment. It was his fault. More people would die and it was his fault. His musings had carried him to his and Senri's room. He hadn't actually decided to go there but with his brain otherwise occupied his feet had traveled of their own accord. If his mind had been in control he would never have gone there. He had been avoiding his room ever since Rido had left Senri's body.

_Well, as long as I'm here I may as well go in, _Takuma thought. He didn't bother to knock but instead let himself in and sat on the edge of the bed where the young noble lay sleeping. He gently stroked back the bangs from the other vampire's sleeping face. This was his fault too. Of all the things that were his fault this was the one that bothered him the most. Senri still hadn't recovered from his possession. And he had had a hand in it.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered still stroking Senri's hair. "This is all my fault." He wished that Senri would sit up and tell him he was wrong, or even just open his eyes but it didn't happen. He just laid there, breathing steadily and sleeping. Takuma had yet to see him awake since Rido had left. He was beginning to wonder if Senri ever would wake or if Rido had not merely suppressed his spirit but had destroyed it.

"What are you doing here?" he heard a female voice demand from the door. He turned knowing that it was Rima that had spoken. He wasn't surprised that she would be here. She and Senri were seldom separate. What did surprise him was the anger burning in her blue eyes. She rarely showed emotion so plainly and for t to be directed at him . . . it hurt.

"I live here," he reminded her trying to keep the pain he was feeling from his voice. Even though he understood why she would hate him, he couldn't believe that she actually could.

She snorted in response. "I wasn't sure anymore. You've been avoiding this room ever since . . ." she trailed off sadly before she glared at him with renewed fury. "So what? Did you figure out another way he can be useful and are back now? Do you have any idea how much you hurt him?"

"I do," he said choosing to only answer her last question. "It's obvious. He still hasn't woken up. To keep a noble asleep so long he has to be gravely injured."

"That's not what I'm talking about you idiot!" Rima yelled. "And he has woken up a couple of times. Not that you'd know that since you haven't _been _here. You were the first person he asked for when he woke . . . not me, _you_. And the second. And the third. _But you were never here_!

"Do you have _any_ idea what it was like for me to have to be the one to tell him that you hadn't even come to see him _once_ since Rido left his body?" she demanded. "To watch sadness sweep across his face as he muttered that maybe you never loved him after all. To see all of this and know that I would _never _have done that to him if he had chosen me over you.

"And now," she continued, lightning beginning to dance along her fingers, "_now _you decide to come back. Why?"

He sighed before he answered. "I don't know," he finally said. "I didn't actually _decide_ anything. I was just walking and thinking and wound up here. I'm sorry, Rima. I've made a mess of everything. I'll just go." He stood and made to leave but was stopped by a hand grasping his wrist.

What neither of them had noticed during their fight was that they had woken Senri. At the sound of Rima yelling he had opened his eyes and realized that the two people he cared the most about in the world were fighting with one another. It didn't take him long to realize what—or rather who—the fight was about. Rima's harsh words to Takuma about which of them Senri had chosen cut him deeply. He had always known that she wanted more than friendship, but he couldn't return her feelings. Not when she wasn't what he wanted. Even so, he cared about her and that was why he had allowed her to take his blood. He knew that it would provide her sustenance, even if he didn't return the feelings.

And even though he knew that it would destroy her, he couldn't let Takuma, the one person he had wanted to see, leave. They had things that they needed to discuss and after the things that Rima had said he wasn't sure that Takuma would ever come back if he let him leave. He hated the pain that flashed through Rima's eyes before she turned at stormed out the door without a word, but there was nothing he could do to stop her. He instead turned his attention to the blond vampire whose hand was currently grasped in his own.

"She's right, you know?" Senri said, his voice rough from disuse. "It did hurt me that you were never here."

"I just couldn't stand it," Takuma replied his tone begging Senri to understand though he refused to look into the blue eyes of the other and see the hatred he was sure was there. "To see you like that because of something I did. I-I couldn't do it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"That's a horrible excuse," Senri snorted. "Especially with all the self-loathing you have spouted since you walked into this room. With how much you hate yourself at the moment I'm surprised that you didn't spend all your time here as punishment."

At his tone Takuma turned to face him. There had been humor there—a dark humor, true but it was humor nonetheless. Senri's face was not blank, but it wasn't filled with hatred either. Instead it was filled with understanding.

"What are you saying?" Takuma asked, his green eyes filled with confusion and hope. "Are you saying that I shouldn't hate myself?"

"Not unless you are prepared to hate me too," Senri said pulling the blonde noble back down into a sitting position beside him. It felt weird to be taking to a standing person from a prone position.

"Why would I hate you?" Takuma demanded taking Senri's attitude as a good sign and gently stroking his face with the hand that he wasn't holding.

"Because I could have said no too," Senri replied with a sad smile. "If I had been stronger I could have fought against Rido and kept him from controlling me. I gained the upper hand a few times. Despite what you think, all the blame in this is not on your head."

At his words, Takuma felt tears prickle his eyes. He had known that Kaname did not blame him—if he had Takuma would be dead now. But Rima's words had made him think that Senri might. The forgiveness that Senri was now showing him was too much. He didn't deserve it.

Seeing tears fill the green eyes of the other noble, Senri scooted over in the bed and patted the space beside him in a silent invitation for the other to join him. He was happy when Takuma lay down beside him and allowed him to pull the blonde noble against him, but was a bit sad that he had decided to lie on top of the blankets. He stroked Takuma's back gently and allowed him to cry on his shoulder.

Eventually he cried himself out and fell asleep against Senri. Senri smiled down softly at the noble sleeping in his bed and allowed himself to place a chaste kiss on his forehead before he snuggled more tightly against him and allowed sleep to take him. For the first time in weeks it was a peaceful sleep despite the war going on outside.

**ooOO88OOoo**

"Are you sure?" Yuuki asked. "Why would a pureblood be working with the hunters when they are wanting to destroy all the vampires?"

"I'm beginning to think that that is not their ultimate goal," Kaname replied sitting on the bed once more. Though he did feel better he could still feel the exhaustion from his display of power earlier in his bones. This was a conversation that they needed to have and he would be able to last longer if he remained sitting while they did.

"Then what is?" Yuuki asked. He smiled at her innocence. She didn't realize that people do not respond well to change, or the people that attempt it. He and Kaien had attempted to make a massive change. This was not an attack motivated by revenge. It was one motivated by fear. If he and Kaien had not succeeded, this would never have happened. It made him sigh. This would have been an easier war to fight if it had been motivated by revenge.

"I think that their ultimate goal may be the elimination of only us and Kaien," he said slowly. He didn't want to tell her at all but knew that she deserved to know. "On some level I was correct when I said that if I would give myself over to them the war would be over. Only I missed a couple of pieces. They also want you, Kaien and anyone else who may believe that vampires and humans can coexist."

"So, by gathering all of the nobles here we have single-handedly placed every piece that they need to take the coexistence desiring vampire community in one place. We made the wrong choice," Yuuki said with a sigh. It was discouraging that her first act a Queen-elect was to damn them all.

"No," Kaname replied gently but firmly. "You forgot to mention that that is only the outcome if we lose. We won't lose this war."

She looked at him incredulously. "How can you say that? It was bad enough when all we were fighting was the hunters and their anti-vampire weapons. Now you tell me that they have a pureblood as well. It's hopeless."

He shook his head. He could understand her reasoning but she was wrong."You forget that we not only have _two_ purebloods but many other magic-wielding vampires, and three ex-hunters one of whom is a legend. And we have the knowledge that if we do not win we will die. Death is a great motivator. That alone is enough to make people do things that they would never do and vampires are more brutal than most even unprovoked.

"Also, even though they have a pureblood—and an old one from the feel of her mind—she is not nearly as strong as I am as evidenced by the fact that she waited until I was weak to attempt to assault me," Kaname continued. "The fact that she has not yet attempted to attack you suggests that her vendetta is against me rather than us."

"Who is she?" Yuuki asked wondering if the other ancient vampire could be a scorned lover of Kaname's and feeling a surge of jealously at the thought.

"I don't know," Kaname replied, his eyes and voice distant as he examined his memory of the mind of the other vampire. It had felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He felt like he should recognize it, but he did not.

"I have never felt her mind before," he finally said. "but it seems familiar somehow."

"Well, why does she hate you?" Yuuki asked, barely restraining herself from asking the question she truly wanted to. Kaname was still emotionally unstable and she knew that attacking him over his past actions would not be the best way to handle the situation.

"I don't know that either," Kaname said. "All I know is that her mind was full of malice towards me."

"Could she have been an ex-lover?" Yuuki asked quietly, her curiosity getting the better of her. Kaname's eyes, which had been half-lidded in thought flew open at both the suggestion and the bitterness in her tone.

"No," Kaname replied, certainty in his voice.

"How do you know?" Yuuki demanded. "I'm sure you've had lots in your many years. I doubt that all of them were mutual breakups."

"No," Kaname repeated. "In all my years I have only had three lovers, including you. The first was the woman you saw in my memories. I loved her in my youth, but we never had any children before she sacrificed herself to create the hunters."

Even though his words hurt Yuuki found herself fascinated by the story. She hadn't actually asked, but he was willingly sharing something about himself with her and she was not about to stop him because it was something that she didn't really want to hear.

"My second lover was also a pureblood. I was still too heartbroken over the loss of my first love to give my heart to her, but she was kind to me and cared for me. I hoped that it would be enough. We were together for a couple of centuries before she told me that she wanted children. I cared for her enough and knew that it would break her heart if I refused so we created life.

"Together we had five children," he explained, his eyes distant once more. "I loved them more than I did their mother but it was still not enough. My heart yearned for the woman I could never have again and eventually, after I saw my first grandchildren born and the first of my children die, I decided that I was done living as well and build myself a mausoleum under the Kuran mansion and entered into sleep.

"Rido later awoke me and I repressed my memories and assumed the form of a babe. It was in that form, with my broken heart suppressed that I met you for the first time and felt love again. I knew the moment that I saw you that I would do anything for you. You needed me in a way that no one had before, not even my first love. You may not have been the first, but you are by no means the least. Do you understand, Yuuki?"

She looked at him with tears in her eyes before she nodded. She had always known that there had to have been others, she had just figured that there had been more. Somehow being one of three made it more difficult than if she had been one of many, but it also made her feel more special.

"So," she said trying to keep her voice light, "we know it's not a lover scorned. Who else could she be?"

"Anyone," Kaname replied. "Purebloods, as a rule, have no objection to eliminating other purebloods. She could still be a vengeful lover, just not _my _lover. I have killed many purebloods and other vampires over the years, any one of those may have had a lover who seeks revenge."

"If we can't figure out who she is what do we do?" Yuuki asked trying to keep up with the accelerated pace at which his mind was changing tracks.

"We destroy her before she can destroy us," Kaname replied with a shrug. He had promised himself that he would work on the wanton killing for Yuuki's sake, but this pureblood had drawn first blood and had attempted to kill him. This was not a wanton kill.

Even though he could see that the idea of killing another did not sit well with Yuuki he could also see that she realized that he was right. At the sadness in her eyes he wished that there was another way that this conflict could come to an end, but if there was he could not see it yet.

"Come," he said gently taking her hand and guiding her to the bed. "We can discuss this more in the morning." She nodded and lay in her spot on the bed fully clothed. He covered her with blankets before he lay beside her and pulled her against him.

"I love you, Yuuki," he whispered into her mahogany hair. "I just hope that you can remember that."

"I love you too, Kaname," she replied snuggling into his familiar warmth and attempting to sleep despite everything that she had just learned. Little did she know that downstairs in the kitchen another was also keeping a silent vigil as he thought through everything that he had learned that day.

Kaien sat at the table in the dark room and thought. Yagari had brought him more news, some of it good and the rest . . . well, it wasn't good. The day class had made it safely to the trains despite the fact that the hunters were already beginning to ring the school. He supposed it was because their quaral was not with humans. The other bit of good-ish news was that the hunters association proper was not responding to the declaration of war. It was only this precinct and not the world-wide organization that was at war.

The reason that this was not exactly good news was that the alarm had been raised worldwide in the vampire community and they would be prepared for a war that may never come. Either that or they would begin a war in an area that it would never have gone. If Kaname were well, he could put an end to that . . . but Yuuki did not have the abilities or—Kaien suspected—the respect of enough vampires to do the same. It was also bad news because it suggested that this was not motivated by the reasons the president had given.

There was more to this war than they were letting on and Kaien had a sinking suspicion that it all centered around his and Kaname's experiment. It upset him to think that his desire for peace would lead to war but there was nothing to be done for it now. War was upon them and they would have to fight it. And whether he wanted it or not, he would try to win.

This thought led him to the bad news. Yagari had no more ideas on how to stop the anti-vampire weapons than he did. As much as he hated to do it, he hoped that Yuuki was right—either about Kaname or her own ability to stop the weapons—because they had no other option. As much as it bothered him to rely so heavily on his daughter to save them all he knew that he would have to do it. He also knew that he would push her if that was what it took to get her out of this alive.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**There we are y'all. I hope you enjoyed it! And ****Eternal Darkness 96**** I hope you enjoyed the bit of SenriXTakuma. Neither of them are characters I work with often and I hope that I did them justice. :) **

**As always thank you for reading this chapter. If there is anything that you would like to see before the end feel free to drop me a review or a PM and I will try to fit it in for you if it will work.**

**A special thank you to:**

**ShioriBunny:**__**Yep :) couldn't leave him out of commission for TOO long now could I?**

**Kannabi888:**** I do that occasionally :). I almost facepalmed writing it and almost deleted it but then decided that with his obsession with her he might actually think something that stupid and decided to leave it in. And thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.**

**Elliot Rose:**** Wouldn't it though? And it might provide some needed humor in something that has taken a decidedly angsty turn. And for now the night class won't cause problems. . . they will just come up with some contingency plans. **

**Akira 91:**** Yep. . . imagine their surprise. . . it may be quite comical. And yes. . . now they have pissed him off properly. The games have truly begun muhahahahahahahahha!**

**Kashim Kururugi: ****Thank you so much! I love it when others love my work. In thanks, I began to work the Kaname and other women thing into the story in this chapter. It will come up again later and be a major plot point (for a little hint see the end of chapter 46 ) I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter as much as you have enjoyed what came before.**

**Anne Fatalism Dilettante: ****Yep :) And thank you so much. I was going for a realistic argument. And I hope you had a Merry Christmas as well. **

**As always thank you for reading or adding this story to your favorites or alerts.**

**Until next time,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	51. Chapter 51

As dusk began to settle over campus, Seiren awoke. She was initially surprised by the feeling of a warm hand resting on the bare skin of her stomach and opened her eyes in confusion. As she took in the room and the silver hair framing the face that was sleeping peacefully on the pillow beside her she smiled. He looked so peaceful in sleep.

Her smile widened as she remembered what had happened the night before. She and Zero had actually had sex. Even though she had never intended to give herself to him so suddenly, she didn't regret it. She didn't even really mind if anyone knew, she wasn't ashamed . . . though she did want to keep it under wraps. Even if she wasn't ashamed it didn't mean that she wanted everyone to know her private business and she doubted Zero would either given how he had reacted to being caught _kissing _her.

With this in mind, it was with some trepidation that she got dressed, hoping that no one would notice she was wearing the same clothes she had worn the day before, and crept to his still-locked door. Sticking her head out the door, she cautiously looked both ways before stepping through it and pulling it closed behind her before she released the handle to keep the latch from making noise. Wanting a shower after her exertions the day before—both in bed and out of it—she headed for the room Zero had told her contained the bathroom.

Once safely behind the closed door, she breathed a sigh of relief. No one had seen her. Once she had taken a shower and made herself presentable no one would suspect anything. She and Zero could keep their secret, for now. With a satisfied smirk crossing her face she stepped into the shower, hoping that Yuuki would not mind if she used a little of her shampoo.

In the end, she kept her shower short, despite the fact that she knew no one else would be up that early. It was a good thing that she did. Just as she had finished dressing, she heard a hand on the door knob and had mere seconds to prepare herself before the door opened and a bleary-eyed Yuuki stumbled in.

"Oh," Yuuki mumbled catching sight of the silver-haired vampire. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that you were in here. I'll just go."

"It's alright, Yuuki-sama," Seiren replied walking towards the door. "I have finished."

"If you're sure," Yuuki said slowly, rubbing her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Seiren asked. Normally she would never have asked such a question of a pureblood, but Yuuki was not a normal pureblood and Seiren was feeling abnormally bold that day.

"I'm fine," Yuuki said with an unconvincing smile and a forcibly bright tone. "I didn't sleep well but it'll be ok."

At her words, Seiren felt her heart clinch in her chest. In her elation at what had happened the night before she had forgotten what had precipitated it. Of course Yuuki was not fine. How could she be fine when the man she loved was in the state he was in?

"I'm so sorry," Seiren replied, thinking more of what she had just realized than what Yuuki had said.

"It'll be ok," Yuuki repeated. "I can take a nap later." She didn't understand why Seiren was looking at her like she was insane. It was just a sleepless night. It wasn't like it would kill her . . . there were other things that were vying for that honor and she doubted that one sleepless night would win the contest. Then it hit her. Seiren didn't know that Kaname was recovered.

"He's better, you know," Yuuki said suddenly. "Last night we had a breakthrough. He's doing better today."

Seiren smiled gently at her words. She knew that Yuuki wanted to believe that Kaname was doing better, but it would take him more time to recover . . . if he ever did. Recovery would be a long road. One night would make no real difference. However, she did not want to be the one to tell the poor girl that sad fact.

"That's good," Seiren said, her voice as gentle as her smile. She knew that her words were unconvincing when she saw Yuuki's eyes narrow slightly as she detected the lie.

"I'll just leave the bathroom to you, Yuuki-sama. I will see you later," Seiren said suddenly, bowing deeply and turning to leave the room. She realized that her escape had been slightly rude, but she was afraid of the turn the conversation might have taken if she had stayed and had decided to flee. After all, she and Zero had _practice_ to attend to and she couldn't do that if she was dead at the hands of a grieving pureblood.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she made it back to Zero's room and seated herself on the side of his bed. He was still asleep, and she smiled sadly as she leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead. She felt bad for feeling so happy when Yuuki had to be miserable. Even though she hadn't meant it to, her actions woke him.

His violet eyes opened and he blinked a couple of times as he took in the fact that she was dressed before he focused on the sad look on her face.

"Are you ok?" he asked, insecurity rearing it's ugly head. Was she upset with him? Had he been bad at it?

She smiled sadly and nodded her head. "I'm fine." She knew that she wasn't fine but didn't want to trouble him with her problems. With a wave of sorrow she wondered if this was the same way Yuuki had meant the same words a little bit before.

"Then why do you look so sad?" Zero asked. She was shocked. He didn't strike her as the sentimental kind and for him to notice her sorrow. "Was it something I did wrong?" he asked looking away from her.

"No," she breathed, shocked that he could think that. "I just feel guilty," she explained.

"Because we shouldn't be together?" He asked again. He had thought of it before but had not wanted to bring it up since he was happy and knew that she would come to her senses eventually without his help and break his heart.

"No!" she said more forcefully. "We can be together if that is what we want. The only people who could say anything won't. Yuuki wants you to be happy and Kaname will do whatever will make her happy and no one will _dare_ to challenge him. That is not the problem."

"Then what is? Aren't you happy?" Zero asked, confusion coloring his tone. He was happy and content . . . or he had been until he saw her face this morning. "Do you regret what we did?"

"No," she replied, her tone becoming more exasperated with each utterance of the word. "I do not regret it. I would make that decision again in a heartbeat. I feel guilty for feeling so happy when Yuuki has to be suffering. She has been through so much lately . . . "

Zero sobered as understanding dawned. Yuuki. At the thought of his friend and the state her lover was in Zero felt guilt begin to flood his veins as well before he squashed it down. There was no reason they should feel guilty. Just because she was miserable was no reason that the whole world had to be. He loved her like a sister, even if he had never told her. He knew that if he was happy he would better be able to console her in her misery.

"Yes," Zero agreed, his tone optimistic despite the sorrow that had permeated the air of the house. "And we'll be there for her when she wants us. For now, I think we should get dressed and get something to eat. Can't fight on empty stomachs."

Seiren sighed at his suggestion, but stood and handed him his clothing before she went to stand by the door unsure if she should leave or just turn to give him privacy. In the end she decided to do neither. They had had sex. This should embarrass neither of them given what they had done together. Even so, she couldn't stop the faint blush that spread up her face as he climbed out of bed.

**ooOO88OOoo**

Kaien stirred as he heard the sounds of someone moving in the kitchen, his hand going to the sword that he still wore. It took him a moment, but he soon recognized the backs of Zero and Seiren's heads. Realizing that he wasn't in danger, he stretched with a groan as his back protested the movement. He was too old to be sleeping slumped over on a table. He hadn't even intended to sleep here.

"Good morning," Seiren called over her shoulder when Zero had said nothing. "I'm sorry that we woke you."

"I needed to be up," Kaien replied standing slowly to go see what the two of them were up to. Zero rarely set foot in the kitchen, though it was always delicious when he did. "What are you making?" he asked.

"Breakfast," Zero said simply. "Are you hungry?" His tone was completely relaxed almost as though he had forgotten that there was a war outside and a broken pureblood upstairs. He acted as though it was just a normal morning.

Kaien found himself feeling like he was missing something and wondered if he was still asleep. Zero and Seiren were entirely too relaxed for the situation. A potential explanation crossed his mind before he rejected it fiercely. He just couldn't handle the idea that both of his children were having sex in his home.

"I could eat," he replied quietly, his suspicion showing in his tone. "Make sure to cook enough for Yuuki and Kaname." Zero looked at him sharply at that last name. Kaien wasn't sure if it was out of a refusal to cook for the pureblood or a question of the necessity but in the end Zero said nothing and added more food to skillet.

No one said anything else while Zeor finished cooking and Kaien and Seiren set the table for five. They had just begun to eat when Yuuki walked through the door.

"I thought I smelled food," she chirped. "Though with these new senses I wasn't sure that it was here." Without waiting for an invitation she plopped herself down in a chair and began adding food to the plate in front of her. "Kaname will be down in a bit," she said even though no one had asked.

They all looked at the enthusiastic way that she was eating and the overly cheery tone that she was using and knew that she was overcompensating for the fact that she was still sad about Kaname.

"It's ok if he doesn't come, Yuuki," Kaien said trying to prepare his daughter for the fact that Kaname was probably not coming to breakfast.

"Yes," Yuuki replied with a nod and a wide smile. "But he will be here." The others lapsed into silence staring uncomfortably into their plates. They didn't know what to say and hated to destroy her hopes but knew that the odds of Kaname walking into the kitchen were slim. They were so preoccupied in _not_ looking up that the sound of a chair being pulled out startled them.

When they looked up, Kaname was sitting next to Yuuki. His face showed signs of weariness, but other than that, he looked the same as he always had. His eyes were clear and there was a smile on his face as he looked at the perky girl who had scooted closer to him when he sat down.

"I'm sorry to have worried you," Kaname said, seeing the shocked expressions on the faces of his dining companions. "I was having some difficulty dealing with the latest development in the war."

"What development?" Kaien asked. He was confused and pleased. Kaname _should not_ be sitting here having breakfast with them. There was no way, yet here he was. No matter what the development was, or how bad, Kaien felt that they now stood a chance. He had hope again.

"How would the hunter's association have gone about recruiting a pureblood vampire?" Kaname asked in response.

"A pureblood?" Kaien replied unsure if he had heard the other correctly. "Why would the association be working with a pureblood?"

"I was hoping you could answer that," Kaname replied. He had decided that they needed to know everything that he knew about the current situation to help him with the decision he had come to. "My condition yesterday was caused by a suggestion planted in my mind by a pureblood vampire. She wanted me to turn myself over to the association. Why would they be working together? Do any purebloods owe the association any favors or the other way around?"

"Not that I know of," Kaien replied . "As far as I know the only dealings the association had with the vampire community was through the senate." Kaname nodded in response. He had suspected that was the case, but he had wanted to make sure before he implemented his plan.

"What does this mean?" Seiren asked, joining the conversation for the first time. "Why would a pureblood work with the association to eliminate the rest of the vampires? It makes no sense."

"I don't think they are after the elimination of all vampires," Kaname explained. "I think this is less about vampires and more about us."

"I agree," Kaien said when he saw that Zero was about to protest. "Yesterday Yagari told me that the rest of the branches of the association have taken no action against vampires. This war is personal and I do not believe that it actually has anything to do with the murder of the president."

"Nor do I," Kaname agreed. "It has to do with the fact that our coexistence experiment was working. We're a threat to how things have always been. A threat that must be eliminated." When no one else said anything, he continued speaking. "And I think that it is time. If they want a war, we will give them one. We should attack, when they least expect it."

"But we're not ready," Kaien insisted. He thought of all the beginners in his class and their fear at the prospect of war. He couldn't stand the idea of sending them into battle. "They will destroy us. We can't combat their weapons and their superior skills with poorly trained vampires."

"Their weapons will not be a problem," Kaname said with a smile that did nothing to reassure anyone. "I can take care of those."

"How?" Zero demanded. He had remained slient so far but that was such a ludicrous claim that he had to say something. No one could stop anti-vampire weapons. That was the point of them.

Kaname paused before he continued. He had never intended to tell anyone, but this group of people could be trusted. "Because," Kaname explained. "I invented them."

**ooOO88OOoo**

"If you still insist on doing this we need to prepare for an immediate attack," Kazuye said with a sigh. The association president was ignoring her, as he had been doing since she told him that Kaname had slipped from her control. She understood his frustration. She _had _promised that she could take Kaname out of commission and had failed. But his refusal to acknowledge her presence was beginning to grate on her nerves.

"Why should we do that?" the president demanded. "Why should I take your advice on this when everything else you have said has been wrong?"

"Because," she snarled at him barely resisting the urge to grab him and shake him. "I was in his head when he recovered, for a brief instant. I _felt_ his anger and his need for revenge. He will not wait long to attack. And when it comes it will be brutal."

"In that case, _you _need to prepare for an immediate attack," he said with a cruel smile. "Kaname is _your _problem."

She felt herself bristle at his tone. She was not a child that could be chided and criticized. She was a pureblood vampire, and older than the man that stood before her could ever dream to become. She should be getting respect from him, not be forced to comply to his wishes. But as long as he wore that bracelet she was restricted in what she could do.

"He will not come alone," she reminded the stubborn man her irritation making her voice harsh. "He will come prepared to finish this. But fine, I will prepare for my battle and watch with relish as his followers destroy you all." She saw his eyes flash with anger in response to her words and for a split-second wondered if she had gone too far but at this point she didn't really care. They needed her more than she needed them. He would not do anything to her before this war was over and by that time she would be gone.

"We will prepare," the president said finally, his tone hard with the anger that was coursing through his veins at her continued attempts to test his authority. She needed to learn her place and once this war was over, he would make sure that she never forgot it again.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**Here we are y'all. :) New chapter and a little bit faster than usual. . . holidays tend to mess up my writing schedule, but things will probably speed up some more as I have large sections of the next few chapters already written. And I now have the ending figured out . . . all we have to do it get there. **

**As always thank you for reading and to those of you who have added this story to your favorites and alerts. I would love to hear what you all think about this chapter or the story in general so leave me a review if you have time.**

**A special thank you to:**

**Eternal Darkness 96:**** Thank you! I am glad that you enjoyed it since I wasn't sure if that was actually what you were looking for. I hope you enjoyed this new update as well.**

**ShioriBunny****: Well, we'll see, won't we? He didn't seem like the type to sleep around and I didn't feel like the hooded woman was the other Kuran ancestor so we had to have one more in there. There will be a chapter coming up where Yuuki and Kaname have a nice long chat about that . . . maybe even some blood/memory sharing. Thank you for the suggestion!**

**Sapphire Kuran:**** Yep. I'm glad too, comatose Kaname is no fun to write. And no problem. Updates will come more frequently as we near the end.**

**BookWormMissy:** **I am glad that you are enjoying it. And I will continue to write. I enjoy this pairing, though it will probably be my only story in this category unless I decide to do a sequel.**

**Thank you all for reading and I hope to see your thoughts in a review,**

**Stickdonkeys.**


	52. Chapter 52

A shocked silence met Kaname's words. Yuuki and Kaien were shocked that Kaname would admit to the truth while Zero and Seiren were shocked at what he had said. Kaname simply sat there waiting for someone else to speak, unruffled by the tension that had sprung up in the room at his pronouncement.

"What do you mean?" Zero insisted. He had been hoping that someone else would ask, but everyone else seemed to be too confused and he had decided to do it himself. "How could you have invented them? That happened . . . hell I don't even know but a _very _long time ago."

"Yes," Kaname replied. His tone hinted that he wanted to add "your point?" but managed to restrain himself.

"But . . . that's impossible. You can't possibly be _that_ old," Zero said. It was an idea that he could not wrap his head around. He knew that purebloods live forever unless they decided not to, but knowing it and having someone in front of him who claimed to have done it were two totally different things.

"No," Kaien said with a sad smile. "It is not impossiable. It is the truth." As he took in the shocked face of both Yuuki and Kaname he gave a small, humorless laugh. "Yes, I knew the truth. Juuri-san told me just before you were born, Yuuki."

"You never said anything," Yuuki said. Even though she now knew the truth, it hurt that everyone had kept her in the dark for so long. Until this year she hadn't know about anything. She hadn't known that Zero was a vampire, or that Kaname was a pureblood—or even what a pureblood was—and an ancient vampire posing as her brother. She hadn't known that _she_ was a vampire! And Kaien and Kaname had known about it all. She understood why they had kept the last bit from her, but the rest . . . she couldn't understand it. She was not helpless. She never really had been. The fact that they thought she couldn't handle the truth hurt.

"Would you have believed me?" Kaien asked. He saw the hurt and accusation in his daughter's eyes and couldn't bear to have her looking at him that way. She said nothing, but her look said it all. _You should have tried_, it said.

"We cannot change the past," Kaname said gently, stroking the side of Yuuki's face in an attempt to distract her. She flinched away from his touch. He was not immune to her anger at the moment. He had hidden _many _things from her as well. "There are many things I would change if I could," he murmured.

"As it is," he said more loudly, sounding sure of himself and commanding, "we must work with what we have done and try to make the best of it. Zero, Seiren, how many of your hand-to-hand fighters are at all battle ready?"

"None," Seiren answered honestly. "They wouldn't last a minute against the hunters, especially not with their weapons."

"The weapons will not be an issue," Kaname said. "Trust me on this. Without the hunters' weapons where do we stand?"

"Maybe ten, fifteen. No more," Seiren said with an apologetic shrug. There was nothing else she could do. They just hadn't had enough time to turn them into skilled fighters.

"Kaien," Kaname said turning to the headmaster after he nodded to Seiren. "What of your class?"

Kaien sighed before he answered. "All but five," he said. "So forty, give or take a few." Kaname nodded again. This was better than Seiren and Zero's number, but not by much.

"Yuuki," he said facing his lover, "How many of the magic-wielders do you think are ready for battle." She knew that he was asking her so that she felt more included, but she almost hated him for it. Asking her to make decisions for others was not the way to make up for treating her like a child.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "They should all be able to fight, at least a little. But most of them have no stamina. If the battle goes on for more than half an hour there will only be a couple left. And they won't last much longer."

"That should be enough," Kaname said. "The battle should go quickly. Without their weapons, the hunters will be surprised enough that we should be able to overtake them quickly. Yuuki, I will need you to lead the magic users."

"What?!" Yuuki exclaimed. "I-I can't do that!"

"I _need_ you to do it," Kaname said sternly. "No one else can."

"What about you?" Yuuki demanded. She had wanted him to treat her like an adult, but this was too much. She couldn't be responsible for the lives of others. What if she made the wrong decision? She couldn't do this.

"I will be handling the other pureblood," Kaname said steadily. "Unless you would prefer to do that."

Yuuki pailed at the idea of facing a pureblood that was strong enough to mess with Kaname's mind. Even though she didn't like the other option, she knew that she _really_ could not face down the other pureblood. She would have to lead the magic users.

"Kaname," she said, her voice pleading. "I can't lead them out to kill. I just can't."

"Then tell them to only kill if it is necessary," Kaname said placing his hand on her face and trying to ignore the haunted look in her eyes at the thought of dealing death. "That decision is yours to make. It will be easier if you will let them do what they must, but if the thought of death disturbs you so much, you can order them to try to avoid it."

His words, far from comforting her, made her feel worse. She couldn't tell them not to kill, not if it might mean their deaths as they tried to follow her orders. She had no idea what she was going to do. Part of her still hoped for a peaceful end to all of this but she knew that it was unlikely.

"How long do I have to decide?" Yuuki asked, her voice hollow and defeated.

Kaname felt sadness creep through him at her tone, but he had no time to worry about it. They needed to press on if they were going to win this war. He could worry about her feelings after he was sure that her life was safe.

"Two hours," Kaname replied. "We will attack in two hours." His words held a finality that no one that heard them liked. By the end of the day, for better or for worse, the war would be over and they would either be dead or victorious.

**ooOO88OOoo**

Seiren groaned as she stopped outside the doors of the moon dorms. She understood that Kaname had other things he needed to accomplish before the battle could begin, but she hated that he had delegated the task of telling the others of the new plans to her. She didn't want to be the one to break the news that battle was upon them to the rest of the vampires, but she would.

With a deep sigh, she set her face into a mask of determination and opened the door. At her entrance, the numerous vampires that were sprawled around the room in various stages of relaxation looked up at her. She knew they had to wonder why she was here. Lessons were not set to start for another hour or so, and she had never been one for socialization.

"The timetable for battle has been moved up," She said, pleased with herself when her voice did not quiver. "We attack at nine. Spread the word."

For a moment, there was only shocked silence in the room and then suddenly everyone was speaking at once. Seiren could make out no one voice in the din, but she understood their frustration and desire to attempt to sway her. She felt the same things.

"My orders came from Kaname-sama himself," she said loudly in an attempt to be heard over the roar of the others. "If you wish to argue, take it to him. I cannot help you." When she finished speaking, she turned and walked away content that she had done what he had asked of her and that her time—what might remain of it anyway—was now her own until his nine-o-clock deadline. And she knew exactly how she would spend what might be her last hours on this earth.

**ooOO88OOoo**

As news of the impending battle spread through the camp, many others followed Seiren's example. But for others that was not an option. Even at the end, some were unable to express their feelings. Kain was one of these. After he heard that they would enter battle, he had wanted to tell Ruka that he loved her but the words would not come. Instead, he sat beside her as they watched a movie and tried to forget that by dawn their world would be completely different.

What he didn't know was that Ruka already knew. It was there, in the way he looked at her and had pulled her against him when she sat beside him. She had known for some time, ever since Yuuki and Kaname's battle with Sara when he had stopped her from rushing in. If they both survived, she would bring it up herself if he didn't. But otherwise, it was better to not know what might have been. With this in mind, she sat against him and tried to enjoy the movie.

Rima, too, was sitting in silence staring at the TV, though she wasn't seeing the picture. All she could see was the image that had greeted her when she had gone to tell Senri of the newest development. Her heart had broken at the sight of the two of them asleep in each other's arms. Even though she knew that was how things were, it hurt to see it. She knew that she should be happy that they were happy, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Even though she knew that she might not make it to tomorrow, she couldn't be happy for them. Not now.

The melancholy atmosphere was not restricted to the moon dorm. Back at the headmaster's house, both Kaien and Yuuki sat in their respective bedrooms and thought about the past and the wrongs they had committed against others and had committed against them. Life was cruel and unfair. Just when things looked as though they would work out for the best, something came along a changed the game.

Yuuki particularly was feeling betrayed by fate. She finally had a taste of everything that she had ever wanted and some things that she had never imagined even in her wildest dreams, and now . . . it could all be gone by tomorrow. And instead of being able to enjoy it, she was going to spend her last few hours thinking about the things she had only just realized and agonizing over a decision she should never have been forced to make. How would she lead others into a battle that she did not want to fight?

**ooOO88OOoo**

**We're almost there ya'll. The next chapter will be the beginning of the end. I'm almost sad that we're almost done. :'(**

**As always thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. **

**And thank you to:**

**Sapphire Kuran:**** Thank you. And we will see a much more independent Yuuki in the end, she is going to be on her own with her own little army in the battle. And no problem. I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter. **

**Giang Tien:**** Don't worry. It was far too early to kill him there. No promises for anyone's survival in the end though. I tried it once too. . . **

**Akira 91:**** Happy new year to you too! I am glad that I could give you something to make coming home from vacation worth it. And the can off whoop ass is coming in the next chapter. I am glad you appreciated the Senri/Takuma scene. I was worried about that. I wish you well for 2013 as well!**

**BookWormMissy:**** They had no way of knowing, and it was kind of fun to write Yuuki having a secret from the rest of them . . . sort of. And I'm not entirely sure that even she understands him. I'm not sure that he understands himself.**

**Ruby Red Kuran:**** I'm glad that you loved it! I had fun writing those two. I hope you liked this one as well.**

**fanficgirl85: ****I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I hope that you like the next chapter**

**Elliot Rose:**** I was surprised by how well I could get behind it as well. It wasn't something that I would have thought of initially (I tend to ship Rima/Shiki) but it was a request and as I thought about it, I realized that I could see it working since I don't know a whole lot about those characters sexualities either. And I don't see how I can throw her a romance with her so hung up on Senri, though I would love to. I feel bad for her as well. And I got the same feel from the manga and it drove me nuts. If he doesn't love her, he should let her go. . . and that is a good question. . . maybe we will get to find out eventually. It'll still take a bit to get to the end but it won't be too long. I haven't quite decided what to do about his children, but I will make sure to tie up those ends before the story is over but—like you—I doubt that most of them—if any—will be out and about even if they are alive. **

**As always, thank you for taking the time to read this story and I would love to know what you think so leave me a review if you have time and/or the inclination,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	53. Chapter 53

Yuuki sighed as she sat on her bed. She knew that she had to do as Kaname had asked, but she hated that he had asked her in the first place. He had asked her for many things since she reawoke, and she had done them. She had fought Sara, even though she had no desire to do so. She had forgiven his killing of the senate and his torture of Rido. She had done everything that he had asked, and some that he had not . . . but this was too much. He had only recently told her that she would not have to fight and now he was saying that she would have to lead troops.

He _knew _how she felt about it, and still asked it of her anyway. She understood—somewhat—why he had done it, but it hurt to know that her feelings mattered less to him than their image did. So what if someone else—someone with more experience—led the magic users? What would it really hurt? Why did it have to be her? Why did she have to be the one to decide between crippling fighters during the battle or sacrificing her principles? It wasn't fair and it almost made her hate him for putting her in the position where she had to chose between the lives of others and her principles again.

She knew that in the end, it would be her principles that lost this battle. She could not—in good conscience—order people to place their own live at risk to keep from killing people who were attacking them. That would be as unfair to them as Kaname's request was to her. She would ask them to not kill if they felt that could safely avoid it, but she would not ask them to try to find ways to avoid it. Even though she knew that it was the right decision, she could not help but feel defeated as she came to it.

It was this, combined with her lack of sleep the night before, that made her sit in the dark and allow the bitter tears to pour down her face. She would do as he had asked unless she could convince him to change his mind: even if it destroyed her in the process.

**ooOO88OOoo**

She was still sitting like that hours later when Kaname came to find her to go to their final meeting with the others before the battle. She didn't move when he opened the door, not even when he turned on the light.

"Yuuki," he said gently knowing from past experience that startling her was not the best plan. Even though she had never really hurt him, they both needed to be in peak condition for what was to come and he could not risk this being the time that she would. When she still didn't move he approached her slowly.

He knelt in front of her, placing his hands on her knees and looking into her eyes. The hostility he saw there hurt. He knew that she was angry with him, and he understood why but there was no other way he could do this. She would not be able to defeat the other pureblood alone and he could not be in two places at once.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. He was sorry that what he needed from her was difficult for her to do, but she had to do it. She didn't say anything, but rather looked away from him and refused to meet his eyes.

"Yuuki," he said gently, placing his hand on her chin to try to turn her to face him. She swatted his hand away and continued glaring at the door. "Look at me. Please."

"No," she said, tears in her voice. "I can't."

"If there was another way," he began only to be cut off as she whipped around to face him.

"Another way!?" She demanded her eyes flashing dangerously, "There are other ways. Many of them! But because you are so stubborn you don't see them. _I_ don't' have to lead. There are many others who could and are better suited to do it. I don't know anything about battle. How do you expect me to lead others into one?"

"Follow your instincts," Kaname told her gently. "You will know what to do if you will just let yourself do it."

"My instincts?" she scoffed. "My instincts are what got us into this mess in the first place! If I hadn't given into the urge to face Rido—which my head knew was a bad idea but my body wanted to do—none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have been . . . and you wouldn't have killed the senate and the president and we would never have killed Sara—who was _innocent_, Kaname. She didn't deserve to die. She did _nothing_ and we killed her.

"And now, now you want me to lead others out to kill people who haven't done anything yet either," Yuuki accused. "Have we even _tried _ diplomacy? No! We just jump right into _killing. _ This can't be the only way. It just can't be."

"It is," Kaname said placing his hands on her shoulder and pulling her rigid body against him feeling hurt when she did not relax into him. "There is no way diplomacy will work. They want us—not vampires, _us_ dead. There is now way that this can end that does not involve death."

"You promised me," she sobbed. "You promised me that I would not have to kill and now you want me to lead an army. Even if I do not kill them personally, I will be responsible for every death they cause. After you promised."

"I'm sorry," he whispered burying his face in her hair. "I know what I promised. But the circumstances have changed. I _need_ you to do this. They _have _to see that you can lead as well. You _have_ to do this. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she replied her voice toneless. She understood that she had been right. He cared more for how things looked than her feelings. Her suspicions had been right. With that realization, she felt her heart break and her mind go blank.

**ooOO88OOoo**

As Kaname's nine-o-clock deadline neared, the vampires began to assemble in the same auditorium they had been in before. This time there was no curiosity in the air. No excitement. Only dread. The air was thick with the feeling of foreboding. Each of them took what might be their final looks at the friends and family knowing that, come dawn, any of them could be dead. Or perhaps all of them.

There was no need for them to call for silence when Yuuki and Kaname entered the room. No one had been speaking. The sight of the pureblood Queen-elect filled their already fragile hearts with pity. Her shoulder were drooped and her eyes were dull and lifeless. It was instantly clear to them that _she_ wanted this no more than they did.

Takuma, Ruka, Kain and Aidou exchanged looks and wondered if, perhaps, Takuma had misheard the headmaster on which of the pureblood had been broken. Kaname looked the same as he always had—though his eyes held more sadness than normal—but Yuuki . . . there was something intangiable—some fire—that made Yuuki who she was that seemed to have been extinguished leaving only a shell behind.

"Thank you all for soming on such short notice," Kaname said. "I know that this is sudden, but I feel that by utilizing the element of surprise we stand an excellent chance of defeating the hunters."

"How will surprise protect us from their weapons?" a woman's voice called out from somewhere in the crowd.

"It won't," Kaname answered honestly to the shock of everyone there. They weren't sure what they had expected him to say but _that_ wasn't it. "However," he continued, "There is something that will. All I need to finish it is a drop of blood from everyone who intends to fight. With that, I can disable their weapons." As he finished speaking, he passed a bowl he had been carrying to Seiren who pricked her finger and squeezed out a drop of blood before passing it to Zero who did the same. The bowl continued down the line. Slowly the room began to fill with the smell of blood.

"Do not make the mistake of believing that this will make the coming battle harmless," Kaname said, his voice sad. "They will still have other weapons that can harm us. And they are lethal without weapons—even to vampires. Some of us will die but if we do not fight then we _all _will die. I am willing to take the risk. Are you?" There was some murmuring of agreement in the crowd and Kaname felt slightly disappointed. It was not the wave of enthusiasm he had hoped for now that they were on a more level playing field.

"While you complete this task, I will briefly explain the plan," Kaname said squashing down his disappointment and focusing on the plan. It would work, it had to. For Yuuki's sake if nothing else. "You will all follow your teachers into battle. Swordsmen, you will follow the orders of Kaien Cross. He is wise and will lead you well. Yuuki will lead the magic-users," he said gesturing at her and feeling his heart clinch as she didn't even acknowledge that her name had been said. She had checked out and it was his fault. He wished that he did not have to ask her to do this, but as with many things lately he could see no way around it. She _had _to lead the nobles.

"Everyone else will follow Seiren's commands," he finished his voice level despite the fact that his emotions were anything but. "Are there any questions?"

A tentative hand rose into the air and Kaname acknowledged the vampire to whom it belonged. "I . . . I'm sorry to ask . . . and I don't mean to offend you . . . but . . . what will _you_ be doing, Kaname-sama?"

"I will be taking care of the pureblood who was foolish enough to ally herself with the hunters," he replied in a tone that left no questions as to what "take care of'" meant. "Is there anything else?" Kaname asked and waited a moment for someone to say something. "Good. Once I have your blood, move towards your leaders for final instructions. Once you are done with that, take a few moments with your families and then prepare for battle."

His words held a tone of finality. This was it. The time had come and there was no turning back.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**Sorry about the wait on this one, the ending wanted to be written and wanted to leave a giant hole in the middle that I had to try to work around. The battle is mostly written (few more gaping holes to fill in) and we're almost at the end. I hope you emjoyed it despite the wait.**

**Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter or added this story to your alerts or favorites and a special thank you to:**

**Sapphire Kuran:**** I'm glad! And thank you! I love it when people appreciate my efforts. And I'm sorry that it wasn't' soon, but I hope you enjoyed the update anyway.**

**Anne Fatalism Dilettante:**** Yep. It will begin in the next chapter and be action packed to the end. And yes, the poor thing is having a very hard time with this. And I'm sorry that it wasn't soon, but I hope you enjoyed the update anyway.**

**Akira 91:**** I thought that was a nice touch. And that's where I'm at too. I am happy that it will all be resolved soon, but am sad to see it end. However I can't see dragging it out once it is ready to come to a finale :/ All things must eventually end . . . I suppose.**

**ShioriBunny: ****No problem! We all get busy (and cell phones are a pain to review from even if they aren't bad to read from). And I agree with you. I can't put my finger on it, but that one did have a different feel. There have been a couple of odd ones in with the others . . . I am glad that you enjoyed it anyway and hope that you also enjoyed this one. It felt a little odd to me as well.**

**As always, thank you for reading. I would love to hear what you thought so leave me a review if you have the time and/or inclination,**

**Stickdonkeys**


	54. Chapter 54

Yuuki looked up as she heard her name. From the sound of the voice, it had been said a few times before she had responded. She looked into the worried faces in front of her and tried to offer them a reassuring smile that even she could tell fell flat.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. She paused before she continued trying to decide what she wanted to say. "I - I don't actually know what I'm doing," she said deciding that honesty was the best. "I've never been to war before. I have killed, but I don't see that as an achievement to be proud of. Quite frankly, I don't feel qualified to lead you. And if any of you do, I _will_ follow you. If not . . . well, then I'll do the best I can. Would anyone else like to lead?"

The nobles exchanged anxious glances. They had never been to war either and had hoped that she at least had _some_ idea what to do. They wanted to know that they were not being lead to a slaughter, but since they were all clueless as well they could not, in good conscience, take leadership from a pureblood, even one whose eyes and voice begged them to do so.

Yuuki saw their pity and knew that it meant that none of them would do this for her. She nodded and offered them a sad smile. She did appreciate that they—unlike Kaname—seemed to realize how difficult this was for her. That brought her a little joy even if they would not do it for her.

"Ok," she said with a shrug. "I suppose the plan is simple. Kaname asked me to tell you that our goal is to help the others. Since we are not as restricted by distance, we're to hang back and do damage control and try to keep the hunters from killing our fighters. Don't get any closer to the battle than you have to."

"There is one thing I would ask of you," she said reluctantly. "This is by no means an order. You are free to ignore it and nothing will happen. All I request is that if there is a way that you can prevent a death of one of ours without killing a hunter, please do it. If you can't . . . then do what you must. That's all I have to say. Until the time comes, you are free to go be with your families."

She dismissed them at the same time as the other groups dismissed their people and for the next ten minutes or so the room was filled with murmurs and tears as people said good bye to the loved ones that they may never see again. Yuuki and her family remained on the stage, not minding if everyone saw what happened between them but knowing that everyone was too involved in their own goodbyes to care about anyone else's. None of them said goodbye. That would make this too final. Even so, none of them—not even Zero—objected when the headmaster hugged both of his children. They all knew that this might be the last time they were all together and took the chance to memorize each other's faces in case they didn't return from battle.

Kaname tried to catch Yuuki's eye to tell her that he appreciated what she had just done, but she pointedly ignored him. Her rejection hurt and he hoped that when this was over he would have the chance to fix whatever he had done to anger her so. He knew that she would be a prime target in the battle and also knew that there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He could not be in two places at once and that pureblood needed to be dealt with. He tried to convince himself that she had the skills that she needed to survive, but that did little to reassure him. He wanted to take her with him, to keep her by his side and keep her safe, but knew that the hunters would be less dangerous that involving her in a battle of ancients.

No, as helpless as it made him feel, he would have to let her fight this battle alone. There was no other option. What she didn't seem to realize was that forcing her to fight without him was nearly as difficult for him as it was for her. He couldn't stand the thought that she might die because he wasn't there, but—despite what she had said—there was no alternative. He just hoped that the decision he had been forced into, and her reluctance to accept it, would not cost her her life.

It was with that depressing thought that he decided the time had come to begin the battle. With a curt nod to Kaien, he cleared his throat and said," The time has come." He wanted to say more, but nothing he could think of was appropriate. He had no grand speech prepared and could make no promises of victory. They would have causalities. Yuuki didn't think he realized it but he knew that for the people who would lose loved ones that night the victory would be a hollow one. He knew the pain of loss, the debilitating pain of knowing that if only you had been faster, smarter, stronger then they would not have died. He knew.

Even so, he also knew that at times loss was necessary for the greater good. That was what he focused on as he led them to the wall he had erected the day before. He closed his eyes as he felt the army fan out behind him to take their positions. First he would neutralize the weapons, and then he would bring down the wall. For the first time he was glad that he had built a self-destruct sequence into the magic that had been used to create the weapons.

He took a deep breath before he released the spell. _I'm sorry, _he thought as he released the magic that would end the weapons of the hunters. He hated doing it because it could never be undone. Through that one action he had nullified the sacrifice that she had made so long ago. Yuuki spoke to him earlier of things that were difficult to do, he wondered if she had thought about what had been asked of him that day. It felt like he finally let go of the sliver of memory that had remained of her through the millennia despite the fact that she was gone. This time he really had destroyed her, he could not argue against it.

His sorrow at what he had just done by eradicating the evidence of the sacrifice of his first love lent him the strength he needed to bring down the wall. He gave a harsh laugh at how easy it had been for him to destroy something that had taken so much from him to create. _Maybe they were right_, he thought with a cruel smile._ Maybe I do destroy everything I touch. But at least I am good at destruction._ Before the dust had even settled, the vampires were on the move. The battle had begun.

**ooOO88OOoo**

In the hunter's camp, Kazuye felt the wave of power wash over her as Kaname released his first spell, but she did not know what it had done. She opened her mouth to warn the president that and attack was probably eminent when the sound of an explosion filled the air.

"What was that!?" he demanded rounding on her as though she had been responsible for the noise. His eyes were wide and it was clear to her that he was afraid.

"The war has begun," she said simply. Now that it had come down to it, she wasn't afraid. She was determined that she would kill Kaname Kuran. If he managed to take her with him . . . well, that was an acceptable outcome. At least then she would know that the hunters would have no more control over her.

"Impossible!" he barked his face inches from her own. "There is no way that they can think that they are ready to face us in battle."

"Ready or not, they are coming," she replied. She could feel the first stirrings of magic in the air and could smell that blood had already been shed. "Or rather, they have come. I suggest you prepare your troops."

"Don't tell me what to do!" he snapped his eyes still wide and beginning to show madness. For the first time she realized that he hadn't expected that the vampires would fight back. She laughed grimly as she realized that he had expected them to lie down and die peacefully.

"Just because they are pacifists does not mean that they will not fight," she said smugly. "You trapped them and they had nothing left to lose. This will be a difficult battle." He raised his hand as though he would strike her before he stopped himself and clinched his jaw in an attempt to push down his temper.

"Then, perhaps, you should get out there and do your part," he said in a deathly calm voice. She nodded in response before moving towards the door. Even if she resented the way he had spoken to her, she wanted to go, if only so that she could have a chance to kill the man that had left her in the care of the hunters so long ago. She doubted that he would be difficult to find.

**ooOO88OOoo**

On the other side of the battlefield there was no need to search for combatants. As soon as the wall had come down, the hunters had sprung into action. Their shock was their weapons did nothing to the vampires allowed many of them to be overpowered in that first instant, but soon they had adapted. They had other weapons, weapons designed to kill ordinary people that they had all carried in case they came up against Kaien or Yagari—though how they had intended to switch weapons before they would have been cut down was something they had not thought through—and it was these they were now using to fight vampires.

They had also brought some cannons to use to bring down the wall and they had repurposed these to help to slow down the vampires. Despite the better training of the hunters, the vampires had the element of surprise on their side and the fact that the news about the weapon malfunctions had not traveled through the entire army yet. And then there was the magic: the random flares of elements that were popping up unexpectedly and blocking them from making a kill. In the chaos and confusion, they could not find the vampires that were responsible for controlling the elements. And on top of all of this, the president was nowhere to be found. They needed guidance. Though all the hunters there had fought Level E's, there was a control and a planning here that they had not been prepared for. This battle was rapidly turning into the bloodbath they had thought it would be, but it was not going the way they had thought that it would.

The vampires, though the battle was going the way they had hoped it would, were no more thrilled with it than the hunters were. They were used to blood, being vampires, but this . . . it was wasteful. The blood coating the ground and their bodies need not have been spilt. There was no point to it other than a senseless quest for revenge. The fact that they regretted the waste did nothing to stop them from performing it. The situation had become kill or be killed and had been initiated by the men whose lives they were now taking. And even the most sensible among them lost all traces of remorse as they watched their friends bleed and, in some cases die, as the battle became more ferocious.

And then the hunters unleashed the cannons. Where with the swords and guns it took a well placed wound to end a vampire—either through the removal of a head or the heart—the cannons required much less precision. It was by these that the night class suffered the first of their casualties. Despite the instructions to hang back from the battle, Rima had move right in—staying near Shiki and Takuma. She had just bounced her lightning from a couple of hunter swords, taking down two men with one stroke, when she heard the first explosion and saw the cannon ball coming.

It was headed for Takuma. The only thought that went through Rima's head—despite the hurt that she still felt for what had happened between them—was that she could not watch him die. There was no time for her to stop it and there was no time to warn him so she did the only thing that she could think of and tried to knock them both to safety. She had thought that she would be fast enough, but she was wrong. She felt her eyes go wide at the searing pain in her chest and looked down in surprise to see the gaping wound. She could feel her blood flowing freely from the gaping wound where her heart had once been. Strangely, now that she saw the wound it didn't hurt. It didn't hurt, but she did feel strangely cold.

She vaguely heard someone calling her name loudly and felt her body lifted and cradled against a warmer one. She also felt as shaking hands were pressed to her chest in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. She forced her eyes open—strangely she didn't remember closing them—and saw two crying Takumas looking at her. Cobwebs were already beginning to creep into her peripherals—cobwebs that were rapidly fading to blackness.

"Take care of him," she whispered with a small smile on her face. Before Takuma could answer her body went limp in his arms. Though her blue eyes continued to stare up into his face there was no life there.

"I will Rima," he replied tears choking his words and making them incomprehensible. Not that it mattered. She couldn't hear them anymore anyway. He held her for a moment and took the time to close her eyes and wipe the trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. If he ignored the hole in her chest she almost looked like she was sleeping. He sat there with her until she turned to dust in his arms.

Then he stood and returned to the battle. Even though her death to secure his life was something that forever changed him, to the rest of the world it had only taken a few seconds. Despite the brevity of the exchange, the Takuma Ichigo who returned to the battlefield was different. The war was now more real to him and the mild-tempered noble was out for blood to attempt to ease his pain at her loss. In his rage and pain it never occurred to him that in his attempt to avenge his friend he was taking the friends and brothers and lovers of others. And even if it had, he would not have cared.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**First off, I am so sorry about that. I hadn't intended to kill of any of the main characters, but it happened and after it came up, I couldn't seem to write around it (that's actually why this took so long I was trying to find a way to NOT kill her). Anyway, I hope you can forgive me. **

**And if you didn't abandon it when I killed her, I would like to thank you for reading to the end of this chapter and thank those of you who have added this story to your alerts of favorites.**

**And a special thank you to:**

**Akira 91: ****And I will try to make it into a happy ending. But I will make no promises. I didn't intend to kill off Rima until it happened. But I will do my best to make things turn out at least ok in the end. I do not want the entire end to be a tragedy . . . I'm a bit to attached to this story to end it that way. **

**Sapphire Kuran: **** I'm glad that you enjoyed that. I thought that it would be good to see why she is being such a brat about this. And she's about to grow up quickly. . . I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the battle.**

**Anne Fatalism Dilettante: ****Yep the final battle has arrived. I hope the first chapter of it lived up to expectations :) and thank you . . . I just wish that I could make it happen a bit faster :/ **

**Yue Matsunoki: ****Yep . . . and . . . I'm rather ashamed of myself at the moment. . . . I am sorry for the fact that she decided that she had to die :'( I did not mean for that to happen.**

**anon: ****I hope the newest chapter was worth the wait . . . and everything will turn out alright . . . probably. :/**

**piplup225: **** Thank you so much! I hope that the newest chapter lived up to your expectations :)**

**Kashim Kururugi: ****No problem at all. You made me think about it so I figured that others might as well and that I should probably address it. And mini vacations are great. I get one next week :) I hope you enjoyed the first part of this battle and Kaname vs Kazuye will come up in the next chapter . . . at least the first part of it. I am glad that you think I have done a good job so far and hope that you still think so after you read this chapter . . . **

**Well, that's all for now folks. I hope you enjoyed it. I would LOVE to know what you thought of this chapter so feel free to leave me a review if you have the time and/or inclination (even if it is just to tell me that I am a horrible person . . . )**

**Stickdonkeys**


	55. Chapter 55

Kaname strode across the battlefield with a purpose. He could sense the other ancient and was taking the fastest route to her. Anything—or anyone—foolish enough to get in his way . . . well it wasn't there for long. He wanted to complete this task as soon as possible so that he could return to Yuuki. He felt his mind try to wander to how she might be doing but pulled it back viciously to the task at hand. She would be fine. The hunters had been declawed. The same could not be said for their pureblood. He needed to focus.

It did not take him long to find her. It seemed that while he was searching for her—rather than fleeing—she was searching for him. She stopped a few feet from him and he saw her for the first time. She had dark hair, and blue eyes that seemed familiar to him somehow. Her most startling feature, however, was the binding tattoo on her neck. He had never seen a pureblood with a binding tattoo. Despite the familiarity of her eyes, he knew that he had never seen that woman before.

She felt a sneer mar he features as she looked for the first time on the man who had ruined her life. It disgusted her to see that they had similar features. She wanted nothing to do with him and now that she had seen it, she couldn't _unsee_ it. If she survived the day she would have to avoid mirrors for the rest of her life or risk seeing him when she looked at her.

"Kaname Kuran," she snarled. "So we meet at last."

"You know me," he replied his voice hard, "however I have never met you."

"That's not _my_ fault!" she snapped a cold fire burning in her blue eyes. "That was your choice, not mine."

"My choice?" Kaname asked confused. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"It's ok," she sneered. "I'm done talking anyway." With those words, she launched her firsts attack. It was a psychic attack that Kaname easily deflected. As he did so, he noticed that it was much weaker than he had anticipated it being. Either she was holding back or she had not managed to take the blood of another pureblood in her time and was working off her base power levels. It had to be the first. The second made no sense. Why would an ancient not have fed from another pureblood?

Just as he felt her prepare to launch another of the weak attacks, he launched one of his own. He saw the panic flare in her eyes as she tried to convert the attack to a shield—which she managed at the last moment though it didn't block the attack entirely. She cried out as the attack hit her and place her hand over the newly formed wound on her ribs. Kaname snarled as he realized that she was toying with him.

There was no way that she would be unable to launch an attack and shield simultaneously. Even Yuuki could do that! She was trying to get him to lower his guard so that she could take advantage of his lack of diligence. It would not work. He would not show pity due to her apparent lack of skill. She had started this but he would be the one to end it.

What Kaname didn't know was that it was not a ruse. Kazyue was truly out of her league. She had never fought anything higher than a level E and those had been few and far between. Most of her time had been spent in her "room." It was deep in the vaults of the association and little more than a cell. She had never actually seen what a pureblood was capable of, but when she was offered the chance to revenge herself on her "father" she took it gratefully. Only now did she realize what she had truly signed up for. There was no way that she could win. She knew that now. She also knew that she had little chance of taking him with her. She was going to die and it would be for nothing. She also found that she didn't really care. In many ways death would be a relief.

**ooOO88OOoo**

Across the battlefield another person almost shared her sentiment. Yuuki was beside herself. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She had just cost Rima her life. She had seen the hunter preparing to fire the cannon and rather than take him out, she had tried to freeze him but had been a second too late. He froze, but in the time it took for the ice to reach his hand he managed to light the fuse. If she would have just taken the kill when she had the chance . . . Rima wouldn't have . . . She couldn't complete the thought, but instead allowed her anger at herself to flow to the surface and lend her strength. There would be time to hate herself later. All she needed to do at the moment was make sure that it did not happen again.

She still did not want to kill, but she knew now that she had to. She surveyed the battlefield quickly and saw that Zero and Seiren were surrounded and outnumbered. Even though they were doing a decent job on their own, she decided to lend a hand. She sent out a wave of power in their direction, flinching slightly as the hunters surrounding them exploded. She felt nauseated by what she had just done and tears of remorse streamed down her face, but she would be _damned _if she lost anyone else that she cared about because of her sensibilities.

The nobles near her recoiled slightly at the feral grimace on her face. They had felt her power wash over them and knew that it was she that had disintegrated eight people. The same pureblood that had smiled so sweetly at them and _requested_ that they not take lives had just taken them, and seemed prepared to take more. They wondered if something had happened or if the sight of the carnage below them had just caused her to snap. Either way, it was disconcerting to see it so clearly demonstrated that the kind and unassuming girl they had met a few days before was truly a pureblooded vampire that possessed great destructive capabilities.

The others took her attack on the hunters as a sign that her ban on killing had been lifted and the battle rapidly became bloodier and the air even more full of screams as the magic users unleashed powers they had kept in check. It was in this chaos that Kaien came face-to-face with the president of the association.

"Ah, Kaien," he said with a smile. "I had hoped that I would be the one that would get to kill you."

"Ken," Kaien said desperately. "This doesn't have to happen. We can end this before anyone else dies. Please. Call them off."

"No," the president replied. "This will only be finished when one side is dead. There will be no truce." Before Kaien could reply, the president raised his sword and attacked. Even though he had hoped for a peaceful resolution, Kaien did not hold back. He was not hailed as a legendary hunter for no reason and within the space of a minute had defeated the president, having knocked his sword away. He stopped short of killing him, however.

"End this," Kaien said holding the tip of his sword at the president's neck. "You have the power to do it. Now end it!"

"Never," he replied reaching into his jacket. Kaien waited just long enough to see the handle of a gun in his hand before he decapitated him. He looked away as the body fell to the ground and the blood began to pool around the space that had been previously occupied by a head. He took no pleasure in the killing but neither did he mourn it. He knew that there were times it was necessary to take a life and this had been one of them. As he disarmed the next hunter and the boy begged for mercy, Kaien also remembered that there were times to spare lives as well.

**ooOO88OOoo**

Kazuye's hand dug into the dirt as she fought against the urge to sob at the pain that was moving through her in waves from her various wounds. She had been beaten before. She had been tattooed. Pain was nothing new to her, but this . . . this was not simply pain. She found that she could find no word to describe what she was feeling.

She felt Kaname approach her. She could feel the power that radiated from him. The only comfort she could find was that it would be over soon and she would not have to feel any longer. She was tired. Tired of all the pain, anger, and hatred. Death would be a relief. Rather than try to hide from it, she looked up into his angry face. She knew that her eyes were pleading with him to end it, but she found that she couldn't care less.

At the desperate plea for mercy that was in her eyes, Kaname felt some of his anger fade. He knew those eyes. Releasing a little of his power back to the wells he had drawn it from, he found that he had to know why she had done it before he killed her.

"Why?" he asked, his voice gentle. "Why did you help them try to destroy your own kind? What did I do to you to make you hate me so?"

She looked away from the pity in his eyes. She could take his hatred, but she couldn't stand his pity. "Because," she spat. "Everything that's happened to me is your fault."

"I have never met you," Kaname said kneeling down beside the broken woman trying to understand what she was saying. Her words made no sense. How could he be responsible for all the troubles in the life of a woman he had never even seen before?

"That's the problem," she sobbed hating herself for letting him see her weakness. "You abandoned me! You left me with _them_ and they hated me. You should have taken care of me, but you were too self-absorbed to do it."

"What are you saying?" Kaname asked even though his mind was already beginning to piece it together. Her appearance, the things she had said . . . he hoped that for once he was wrong. The alternative didn't even bear consideration.

"My mother loved you," she said the words filled with resentment. "More than she loved me. She cared enough about me to give me life before she sacrificed herself for you. Some gift! A life spent in the dark. Hated and feared."

"No," Kaname breathed. He couldn't believe what she was saying. There was no way this had happened.

"She held me just long enough to name me," Kazuye said bitterly, "or that's what I was told, at least. Then she ripped her heart from her chest and threw it into the furnace. Leaving me with the hunters. They told me that you never even asked how I was."

"I . . . I didn't know you exist," Kaname breathed desperate for her to understand. "They never told me. _She_ never told me. I would never have . . . I-I couldn't have—"

"You did," Kazuye spat. "_Now_ do you see why I hate you?" He did see. He finally understood her anger. And he felt tears sting his eyes and rage burn through his veins for what had been done to his child. How could the hunters had kept something like this from him. He had thought that they were allies. How could they have taken her and kept her in the dark and _tattooed_ her. It was everything he could do not to try to pull her into his arms.

"I do," he said finally looking down at the broken woman beside him. She had been right. It was all his fault. Everything that had happened to her. The pain she was in now. It was his fault. He had destroyed his own daughter.

"Don't look at me like that!" she yelled, her mother's blue eyes filling with tears as she glared at him. "You don't get to look at me like you are sorry! _Nothing _you can do can make up for what you have done!"

"I know that," he replied touching her face gently and feeling hurt as she pulled away from his touch. "I will not even insult you by trying to apologize. I will say that this is not how things have to end between us. I won't end your life."

"If you don't, I'll kill you," she threatened darkly.

"You can try," he replied with a shrug. "Being raised by hunters, you missed many life lessons of purebloods. Despite your age your powers are still that of a child. You can't kill me." At his words she began to cry.

"Then kill me," she begged. "I can't go on like this. If I don't kill you they will just put me back in my room. I can't go back there. Please just kill me."

"No," he snapped his eyes hard and his jaw tight. "I will not kill you and they will not put you back in that room. I will make sure of that if I have to raze the building myself."

"Why," she demanded sharply. "Why do you care all of a sudden?"

"I loved your mother," Kaname replied emotion choking his voice. "I loved her more than I cared about myself. I would have done anything for her. It turns out she must have felt the same for me because she sacrificed herself to keep me safe. I don't know why she never told me about you, but had I have known about you I would have loved you as well. I would have cared all along."

"If you loved her so much how did she sneak a pregnancy past you?" Kazuye demanded.

"I don't know," Kaname replied shaking his head. "Perhaps it was because I was too absorbed in my experiments. Or it could have been because we were at war. Either way, I should have seen it. I'm so sorry."

"You-you really didn't know, did you?" she asked slowly. The president had told her that Kaname had given her to them as a good faith gesture. He had said that he had known that her mother was pregnant and had let her come to make the sacrifice. He had lied to her!

"No, I swear it," Kaname replied. At his words, Kazuye felt anger swell within her once more and the need for vengeance but this time it was directed at the hunters. She was prepared to destroy them all for what they had done. The president in particular would learn that it was dangerous to manipulate a pureblood.

Feeling the anger that was surging within her, Kaname stood and offered her a hand. A pang of guilt flared in his chest as he saw her grimace as she stood. The hunters would pay for this. Not only for keeping the knowledge that he had a child from him but for pitting them against one another.

"Come," he said gesturing at the battle raging around them. "Let's end this." She nodded and the two of them walked into the fray dealing blood death to any who opposed them as they both searched for the president of the association to seek revenge.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**There we are all, a new chapter. Sorry about the delay, I was on vacation last week and had very limited computer access. I hope it was worth the wait.**

**As always thank you for taking the time to read this chapter and thank you to those of you who had added this story to your alerts or favorites.**

**And a special thank you to:**

**Anne Fatalism Dilettante:**** I know *looks down in shame* I am a horrible person :'(**

**Anon: ****I hope you enjoyed what happened next.**

**Yue Matsunoki:**** I am ashamed . . . so very ashamed. I'm glad that you are enjoying it despite that little setback.**

**Akira 91:**** I tend to live by that rule. I feel that only under duress do true characteristics show (probably why my writing tends to be rather angsty) and I'm glad that you do not hate me for it and hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Well, that's all for now folks. I hope you enjoyed it and would love to hear what you think (even if you hated it) so leave me a review if you have time and/or feel so inclined.**

**Stickdonkeys**


	56. Chapter 56

Little did Kaname and Kazuye know that their quest for vengeance had already been ended by another. In fact, with the death of the president, the association forces had fallen apart. With no one to drive them forward, they were beginning to crumple under the ferocity of the vampires' assault. Seeing this, and the death of the President, the Vice-President sounded the retreat. Seeing them fall back, and knowing that it was not a ruse, Yuuki took a deep breath and threw up a hasty barrier to stop the vampires from pursuing them.

Once the vampires realized what the retreat and the barrier meant and the bloodlust began to fade, they looked around them for the first time since the battle had begun in earnest. The sight that greeted them was horrific. The ground was covered in blood and littered with the bodies of slain hunters and piles of sand that showed were vampires had fallen. The once fine clothes they had worn were now saturated with blood and covered in things that they didn't look to closely to identify. Many of them looked at their own bloodstained hands in horror as they realized what they had done.

Once they began to look around, Yuuki dropped the barrier and began to make her way through the shocked crowd to where the new President of the association was standing warily. Fighting the exhaustion that caused her limbs to shake, she moved towards him, her head held high. She wasn't sure where Kaname was, but she wasn't sure that she could afford to wait for him before taking the surrender of the hunters if she wanted to be sure there would be no more fighting. She swallowed hard. She had never done anything like this before.

She turned hopefully as she felt a hand grasp her shoulder, expecting to see Kaname standing there prepared to take the lead on this, but instead it was Kaien smiling down at her. He nodded to her and she smiled weakly before she turned and moved towards the hunters, comforted by Kaien's supportive presence behind her.

She watched the surviving hunters shift uncomfortably at her approach and felt her heart clench in sorrow. She meant them no harm and for them to think that she did was hard for her to accept. But she swallowed down her disquiet and continued towards them. When she was about halfway across, she stopped and the President moved to meet her in the middle, three hunters coming with him. She was a bit taken aback by the number until she felt Zero's hand graze her elbow and saw his gentle smile. The President only sought to match her numbers.

"Can we end this?" she asked once they were within easy hearing range. "Will you surrender? We can kill you if we must, but I would prefer to end this without further bloodshed."

"You would end this that way?" The President asked. He was genuinely surprised. He had figured that the purebloods would not be satisfied until all of the hunters had been wiped out. He had known that the conflict would have no peaceful resolution and now here was the pureblood princess Kaien had raised offering peace.

"I would have ended it this way before anyone needed to die," Yuuki replied her tone cool. "I did not choose to start this war, but I would choose to end it."

"What are your terms?" The President asked in a resigned voice. There was no way that the remaining hunters he had left could fight their way out. He would have to agree to whatever she asked. She held all the power here. There was nothing left for him to do.

"I have no terms," Yuuki replied. "There is nothing you can offer or give that these people that will make up for what you have done. You have already paid for your war with the lives of your friends and with the weapons of all the hunters. I would not seek to punish you further."

"You have no terms?" The president asked incredulously. He had to have misheard her. There was no way that she had truly said that. "You will just let us walk away as though nothing happened?"

"I hope that's not what you do," Yuuki replied. "I hope you _never_ forget what happened today. I hope that you remember that this—death, useless death—is what happens when you let hate cloud your minds. But, yes, you are free to walk away."

"Why?" the President asked. He needed to know why she would do that. She could demand anything that she wanted—even their lives—and here she was prepared to let them go. It made no sense. They had attacked her, threatened all that she loved. What she was doing now went against everything that he had ever heard about pureblood vampires.

"There's been enough death today," she replied. "And I will not have your deaths on my hands unless you force me to. However if you refuse to stop this stupid war, I will kill you all myself." Everyone that could hear her was surprised at the steal in her voice as she said the last words. It was clear that even though she was offering a peaceful solution she would follow through with her threat.

"Your terms are more than fair," the President replied. "We will agree to them. Will the others abide by your decision?"

"Yes," Yuuki replied nodding her head to strengthen her words as a smile crossed her face. She had brought them peace. "The only one who could disagree with me would be my brother and he will not fight me on this. Our agreement is binding."

"Are you sure of that, Yuuki?" Kaname asked. He had been surprised when he had returned to the site of the main battle to find that it had stopped and that the last of the hunters were cornered by the vampires while Yuuki, Kaien, Zero and Seiren were in the middle with four of them. As he had gotten closer and realized that they were talking peace his blood had boiled. There would be no peace with the people that had lied to him.

At the anger in his voice she turned to face him, surprised to see fury written across his features. She was even more surprised to see the woman standing behind him glaring at the hunters. She had never seen her before, but she could tell that she was a pureblood. And from the bruises and cuts, she could guess that she was the pureblood that Kaname had been going to "take care of." What bothered her the most about the scene before her was how much the two of them looked alike. It was uncanny.

"Why would we not?" she asked calmly trying and failing to understand his anger. "They have already paid for their transgression in lives. There is no reason to do more. There has been enough death."

"I disagree," Kaname snarled. "They have by no means paid for what they have done."

"Their friends are dead!" Yuuki snapped upset that he would take that tone with her when she was the only one talking any kind of sense. "They have lost their only weapons against the Level E's and therefore their entire purpose in life! They _have_ paid."

"You don't understand," Kaname replied, his tone condescending. It was almost as though he thought that she was incapable of understanding, not that she lacked information. And to an extent she was. As she had never been a parent, there was no way that she could understand his anger at being deprived the right to raise his own child.

"Then explain it to me!" Yuuki yelled, rounding on him with her arms wide. He was right. She didn't understand why he would want to end something with bloodshed that could be ended in peace. "I would _love_ an explanation, Kaname! They are prepared to end this. What more do you want?!"

"I want them to pay for what they did to me," Kaname answered, his voice cold and level.

"What did they do to you?" Yuuki asked her voice high in her confusion. He wasn't answering the question. He was only making more cryptic remarks. It was infuriating! "Yes, they declared war, but it's over! The man who did it is _dead_, Kaname. These people did nothing! They only followed orders!"

"Do you know who this is, Yuuki?" Kaname asked grasping the other pureblood by the arm and pushing her in front of him. The woman flinched at his touch and looked at Yuuki with wide blue eyes. She seemed to be as confused by this turn of events as Yuuki was.

"Their pureblood," Yuuki replied levelly. She didn't miss the way that the hunters looked from one another in confusion. They hadn't known they had a pureblood. Only the vice-president shifted uncomfortably as she was pushed forward. He had known.

"My daughter," Kaname replied looking directly into Yuuki's eyes, his face impassive.

"Your . . . " Yuuki breathed, feeling the blood rush from her face at the word. He had a daughter that had been working with the hunters? It made no sense. How could the hunters have one of Kaname's daughters?

"Daughter," he repeated unease washing though him as he saw Yuuki's face pale at the news. She seemed to be taking it badly and a portion of his mind suggested that this was not, perhaps, the best way to introduce the two women. "A daughter I never knew existed. A daughter that _they_ hid from me for _thousands_ of years. They kept her in the dark, in the basement, Yuuki! Just like—"

"Just like my parents did me," Yuuki said quietly. "They let no one know about me either. Did they deserve death?"

"No," Kaname said, his voice hard. "But they showed you love and kindness. They gave her nothing like that! They need to pay for what they did."

"Kaname," Kaien said softly. "There was no pureblood in the basement of the association. I'm an elder. I would have known. They kept no secrets from us."

"Then you knew as well!" Kaname snapped rounding on Kaien and beginning to feel like an animal caught in a trap. It seemed that everyone was against him, even Yuuki. He had known that bringing back a daughter would cause problems between them, but he hadn't expected her to forsake him completely. He had still figured that she would see his side of the argument.

"Do you intend to kill them all?" Yuuki asked her voice quiet, and filled with regret since she already knew the answer. She could see it in the fury that burned in his eyes. "Every last hunter that _might_ have known?"

"Yes," Kaname snarled not seeing the pain in her eyes due to the force of his anger. "For what they did, they will all die."

"Fine. If that is your goal, then you will have to go through me," Yuuki replied stepping between them and staring at her lover levelly. She cared for him, deeply, but she would not stand by while he _murdered _innocent people. Not if there was anything that she could do to stop it.

**ooOO88OOoo**

**There we are all, a new chapter out! Sorry about the delay on this one. I have been sick and it's kinda hard to type when you keep falling asleep unexpectedly. I hope it was worth the wait.**

**As always, thank you to everyone who read this chapter and to all of you who have added this story to your alerts or favorites.**

**And a special thank you to:**

**Piplup225: ****Thank you! and she hasn't really commented just yet, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Anne Fatalism Dilettante:**** Yep. Not a particularly pleasant truth, but not all truths are nice. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Rio:**** I won't stop, not before it's done. I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)**

**Yachiru-chan92:**** Yep, it was hard but he managed it. I'm glad that you saw that one coming and hope that I managed to surprise you with this one and that you enjoyed it :)**

**Kannabi888:**** Yep, she's Kaname's daughter. And we'll actually get to see what Yuuki thinks once she's out of her shock at learning about it. I'm glad that you enjoyed the last one and hope that you enjoyed this one as well.**

**Anon: **** We'll have to see, but my bet is not well ;) I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Akira 91:**** I hope you enjoyed her reaction and this chapter :)**

**CheekyChemist:**** I'm glad that you are enjoying it even though it wasn't quite what you were looking for! I'm glad that you think I am doing a good job with the inter-character dynamics. To be honest it drives me up the wall how many fics have a completely passive Yuuki. And I thought a constutitonal monarchy was a good touch, I didn't realize that I was the only one. And I agree with you about Seiren, but, as you said, she's kinda just there in both the manga and the anime so I just decided to run with it :). And we may get a bit of both . . . a huge fight and then a breakdown. And we'll have to see about that element, won't we ;). I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Well, that's all for now folks. I hope you enjoyed it and would love to hear what you think (even if you hated it) so leave me a review if you have the time and/or feel so inclined.**

**Stickdonkeys. **


	57. Chapter 57

"Excuse me?" Kaname asked, his voice reflecting his surprise that Yuuki would actively oppose him. He halfway expected her to hang her head, apologize and step out of the way. A month ago that was what she would have done, but now . . . that was not what happened.

"You heard me," Yuuki replied, her voice choked with emotion but her chin raised and her back straight as she glared at him in defiance. "If you want to kill them, you'll have to go through me." She knew that her voice quivered as she spoke but her determination was no lessened by her fear or sorrow at what she was doing. Her mind was made up. She _would_ stop him.

"You do know that I can kill them even with you standing there without harming you, right?" Kaname asked, his tone harsh as he glared at his lover. While he was glad that she was showing conviction, this was not something that he would be opposed on. They would die. Painfully if he could manage it.

"Yes," she replied, swallowing heavily to clear her throat before she continued. "You could. Just know this: I will block your attacks for as long as I can manage. I will do everything that I can to stop you."

"You wouldn't even be able to block the first," Kaname snarled coldly. "If I was to unleash even a fraction of the power I possess it would rip through everything you had as though there was nothing there. You cannot stop me. And if you try . . . well I'm not sure that I can forgive you."

"You're right," Yuuki replied quietly, tears beginning to prickle her eyes that Kaname would say something so cruel to her, but rather than weaken it, his harsh words actually strengthened her resolve. "I can't stop you. Hell, I'll bet that if everyone here united against you it wouldn't do anything. You could blast through all our magics without breaking a sweat. But that doesn't matter. Even though I know it's useless, I'll still try. Even if that means that you hate me forever. I can live with that if I must. But if I don't try, _I'll_ hate myself forever and that . . . I can't live with that.

"And know this, Kaname," Yuuki continued, her voice growing in strength and volume as she spoke. "I love you. I probably always will. But if you do this I will also _hate_ you. I've _never_ been comfortable with how easy it is for you to take a life. But I've always managed to convince myself that it was necessary, even the senate, but this . . . It's not necessary this time, Kaname. They have surrendered peacefully. They have lost everything. It's over."

Kaname couldn't have looked more stunned if she had slapped him. Yuuki, his Yuuki, had just said that she would hate him. Couldn't she see that this was something that he _had_ to do? Vengeance required it. Why did she oppose him? Rather than entertain the possibility that she might be right, her words angered him. What did she know? She was little more than a child. She knew nothing about the cruelty of the world and how wrongs required retribution. Who was _she_ to criticize _him_? He who had seen millennia pass?

"No, Yuuki," Kaname replied, his voice little more than a whisper. "This is not over. I can't expect you to understand why I have to do this, but I do. They have to pay for what they have done."

"Are you hearing yourself?" Yuuki demanded. "Do you have any idea just how crazy you sound? You can't just kill people!"

"Why not?" Kaname asked coldly. "You have. Or have you forgotten that your hands are not clean of blood either, Yuuki. You want to stand there and tell me that I have no right to kill people, tell me, what right did you have to take the lives you have taken?" At his words Yuuki's face crumbled.

"I haven't forgotten," Yuuki breathed. "I still remember feeling their pain as I ripped them apart and they died. But I did what I had to do to protect others. This is not the same thing, Kaname. They're no threat. There is no reason to kill them."

"So killing is only justified if _you_ say it is?" Kaname shot.

"I never said that," Yuuki yelled. "I _never_ said that killing is justified. If it can be avoided there is no reason a life should be lost. Just because you have the power to do it doesn't make it right, Kaname."

A sudden thought occurred to her, wafting out of her memory. A snippet of a conversation she had taken place in what seemed like a lifetime ago. A conversation that took place during Kaname and Sara's battle with Rido in limbo:

_Rido shifted uncomfortably under the angry stares of the three other purebloods. "Now, now," he said, holding his hands in front of him in a placating gesture. "Don't look at me that way. It's not as if all of your hands are clean either. How many people have you killed, Kaname? Or you, Yuuki? Or even you, Sara? You all look at me as though I'm the only one here that has killed. Hell, Kaname and Yuuki both tried to kill me."_

_"I only tried to kill you because—"Yuuki began only to be cut off by Kaname._

_"You owe him no explanation," Kaname told her abruptly. "We were both justified in our actions, unlike him."_

_"Dear, Kaname," Rido laughed cruelly. "So sure that you are the good guy. I will just remind you that 'good' is a subjective term."_

She felt a sob rise up her throat as she realized that she was having the same conversation again, only this time it was Kaname, not Rido that was using the argument that just because she had killed that made it alright. She fell to her knees as Rido's last words tumbled around in her head, twisting and changing until they were a condemnation. Kaname was bad.

"No," she sobbed. There was no way that he had been right. Rido was insane. He had proved it time and time again, but . . . he had been right. Kaname was not good. He may have been at one point but he no longer was. Even with her childhood memories intact, her human memories were still stronger. As she sorted through them she realized that most of the memories she had of Kaname interacting with someone other than her were violent. How many people had he killed for "her sake" and how many of them actually could have been spared? The question left her feeling cold and empty as the thought repeated in her mind. Rido had been right.

Kaname watched her crumble and wondered if she was alright. She seemed to be struggling with something, and he felt a strange sense of triumph in the fact that he knew she was about to allow him to do as he wished. He turned to smile maliciously at the hunters, knowing that if he had a little patience, gave her just a bit more time, Yuuki would condone his actions and he could kill them and not lose her in the process.

Kaien felt nothing akin to triumph as he watched his daughter break. He had intended to let her do this alone, show Kaname and the others that she was strong, but his resolve crumbled as she did and he felt himself going to her side and kneeling beside her. She looked up at him, her burgundy eyes filled with tears and her expression so tortured that it broke his heart.

"He was right," she sobbed grabbing his shirt and crying into his neck. "He was right." Kaien was surprised but wrapped his arms around her and tried to soothe her but she was inconsolable. She said nothing else, just kept mumbling that "he" was right.

"Yuuki, who was right?" Kaien asked.

"Rido," Yuuki sobbed clinging more tightly to him and Kaien felt himself stiffen at the name. What could that madman have said that upset Yuuki so? He had been dead for weeks. What had he said?

"Yuuki, what did Rido say?" Kaien prompted, trying to keep his voice neutral. Rather than answer his question, she shook her head before pulling back to look at Kaien, her eyes filled with such sadness that it made him want to weep as well. She was too young to be so sad.

"I have to stop him," she said. "I can't let him kill them. I . . . things can never go back to how they were, but I can't let him kill them."

"I agree," Kaien said, wondering what she meant by 'can't go back' but letting it go for now. "But what are you going to do. You can't fight him and he doesn't seem to want to be reasoned with."

"I know what I'll do," Yuuki said. "I love you." The words shocked him. What could she possibly have planned that made her feel that she needed to tell him such a thing.

"I love you too, Yuuki," Kaien replied before moving to let her have the floor once more. She stood, the only sign of her tears the lines on her face. She was glorious and Kaien was infinitely proud of her. She looked every inch her mother's daughter.

"Kaname," Yuuki said, facing her lover for what might be the last time. She knew that he would not like what she was about to say and in his present state of mind, she knew that she might not survive his ire, but it was the one thing she could think of. Where kind words and logic had failed, perhaps a harsh reality check would work.

"Kaname," she repeated her voice defeated. "While I can't let you do this, I-I know that I can't stop you. You're going to do what you're going to do and there's nothing that I can do about it. You don't want to see sense and I don't have the strength to fight you or the energy to do it any longer. I hope that you'll still choose to do the right thing, but . . . I-I won't lie to you. No matter what you choose to do . . . I-I can't . . . there's no way for us to be together. Not like we were. Not now that I see the kind of person that you truly are.

"I have tried to ignore it," Yuuki continued her eyes never leaving his face as she tried to drive home the seriousness of her words. "I've told myself that you had your reasons, that you could never kill without a direct threat, but I always knew that was a lie. The reason I put myself between you and Zero _that_ night was because I knew. I _knew_ from you posture and your tone that you were about to commit coldblooded murder. Still I ignored it.

"The senate should have opened my eyes," Yuuki scoffed, her tone bitter about her own blindness. "I should have seen it then. You _murdered_ them, Kaname. All of them. I understand that some of them were corrupt, but there had to be another way. Another way than _murder_. And then Sara's challenge. We didn't have to accept it! And you knew that! I did a little research into pureblood family trees. Sara was no threat to us. The most she could do was posture. She didn't have the bloodline to actually pose any threat to us. But you accepted the challenge and drug me into the middle of a battle that I had no need to fight and wasn't prepared for just to—I don't even know why you did it!

"And _this_," Yuuki said gesturing around her. "Can you explain this to me, Kaname because I don't understand it either? I understand why we had to go to war, but . . . here, now. This is unnecessary. Can't you just stop this? End the bloodshed. There's no point to it. Just do the right thing. Prove Rido wrong."

Her words hit him like a bucket of ice water, dousing the flames of his anger. Not the long speech, he had heard all of that from her before or guessed as much. It was the last three words. He wasn't sure what she was talking about but the words struck a chord within him and again he heard Rido's voice in his head.

"_I'll let you in on a little secret, Kaname. Deep down, you and me, we're a lot alike. Even __she __sees it. It wasn't your appearance she was reacting to today: It was your soul."_

Even though he had argued vehemently against Rido at the time, his current actions had proved him right. The look that Yuuki gave him as she stood there, it had none of the love or adoration that he was used to seeing in her eyes. Instead there was what almost looked like a mix of hatred and pity. He felt something within him break at the sight. Slowly, he turned his head away from her and looked at the rest of the survivors. All of their eyes were the same. They all held some degree of distaste for his actions, anywhere from discomfort to outright hatred. He sank to his knees with a moan. What had he done?

**ooOO88OOoo**

**Hey all, sorry about the LONG delay on this one. I had a bit of writer's block, couldn't figure out how on earth to end this confrontation without the two of them coming to blows or Kaname killing the rest of the hunters all while trying to avoid TOO much angst . . . I think I failed. At any rate, this is what came out. I hope it was worth the wait!**

**As always, thank you to everyone who read this chapter and to all of you who have added this story to your alerts or favorites.**

**And a special thank you to:**

**Anne Fatalism Dilettante:**** Thank you! well, it was a verbal spar, does that count? I hope that you enjoyed it!**

**Akira 91:**** So would I! and yeah . . . his idiocy in this one knows no bounds . . . **

**Sezza1987:**** Thank you so much! I'm sorry that it took so long to get out, but I do hope that it was worth the wait!**

**Guest:**** I'm sorry that I failed you. *hangs head in shame***

**Yue Matsunoki: ****I'm glad that you liked that I gave her a spine. That is one of the biggest issues I have with most anime/manga stuff. The women are overly passive. And I'm not sure this will be anything happier than a bittersweet ending. . . the angst bug kinda bit this story.**

**Nini Hearts: ****Thank you so much! I can't believe that you reviewed nearly every chapter up to 34! I hope that I didn't lose your interest, but if I did, I would love to know why (though I suppose that if I lost it you will never see this) **

**Emmawalters090:**** Thank you! **

**Animelover1991:**__**Thank you! and I'm sorry that it wasn't soon, but I do hope that it was worth the wait.**

** : ****I'm glad that you loved it! And sorry about that :/ hopefully it was worth the wait**

**Elliot Rose:**** I'm glad that I could excite you, and we'll have to see what I can do about working in a Kain/Ruka kiss for you. And I agree with you, Yuuki had it off there. Kaname wasn't doing it just to hurt her. But the poor little thing is just so overwhelmed. And I agree. At least one of the core characters **_**had**_** to die, though her misery before her death was very cruel of me. I thought you would like that! I tried to drop subtle hints in, but I may have been a bit too subtle. And they do. I'll cover that later but they both wanted to conceive a child, but she knew that the world needed Kaname to complete his experiment and he would never do it if he knew that he was going to have a child so she hid it from him and delayed him until it was time so that she could give him one last gift to remember her by. And she could have, if what happened next hadn't have happened. And no, Kaname would never physically hurt Yuuki. And their image . . . yeah, that's gone. And yeah . . . if they manage to stay together, they will definitely need marriage counseling. (though I do have to admit that the mental image of Kaname in anger management made me laugh. I may have to crackfic that one). And I'm sorry that it wasn't soon but do hope that it was worth the wait.**

**Piplup225:**** I'm glad that you enjoyed it! And I considered it, oh how I considered it but Yuuki would never have stood a chance. So instead we get a verbal spar! Hope it was worth it!**

**Kannabi888:**** I'm so sorry that it took so long. And I haven't been keeping up with it. I figure that I'll give it a read once it's completely done (hopefully I'll be done before then and the ending of it won't influence the ending of this overmuch though I will admit that there are similar elements at play)**

**Well, that's all for now folks. I hope you enjoyed it and would love to hear what you think (even if you hated it) so leave me a review if you have the time and/or feel so inclined.**

**Stickdonkeys.**


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